The Seattle data storage company has raised more than $230 million in the 6 1/2 years since it was founded.
Seattle startup Qumulo continued on Wednesday what is becoming an annual tradition for the company – it announced it has raised a massive round of funding.
The data storage company has reeled in $93 million from investors, led by BlackRock Private Equity Partners and including Goldman Sachs and Madrona Venture Group among many others. In its 6 1/2-year life, Qumulo has raised more than $230 million.
That’s put the company in a good position, said CEO Bill Richter, who took over the reins at Qumulo in late 2016. With no debt and plenty of money in the bank, the company can focus on growing, he said.
Qumulo plans to use the funds to keep hiring engineers, and Richter said he wouldn’t be surprised if the company’s 180-person head count doubles in the next couple years.
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The company will also put effort into expanding its technology, which helps its customers manage their file-based digital data. Those customers include big Hollywood movie studios, auto companies and others that need to keep track of petabytes of data.
Qumulo’s technology is designed to work in local data centers or in the cloud. Right now, it is compatible with Amazon Web Services and is working to expand to other clouds, Richter said.
“Our long-term vision is certainly multi-cloud,” he said.
Richter called out some of the company’s competitors, firms such as Quantum or Dell, that also focus on managing data storage. “They are in the business of just selling boxes,” he said, noting that Qumulo’s technology encompasses software as well as hardware.