o9 Solutions raises $295 million to accelerate 'Digital Brain' growth
The enterprise AI software platform provider o9 Solutions announced that it has received equity investments totaling $295 million from General Atlantic, including BeyondNetZero, its climate investing venture, Generation Investment Management, a pure-play sustainability investment manager, and existing investor KKR.
"This investment will help o9 build on its momentum and accelerate growth for its AI-powered integrated business planning platform it calls the "Digital Brain" across industry verticals and markets. It will also help o9 drive continued innovation in R&D, industry knowledge models and partner ecosystem development that will help companies implement o9's game-changing platform faster and realize greater value," reads the release.
Chakri Gottemukkala, co-founder and CEO of o9, said, "Demand and supply volatility and complexity has been growing and the pandemic has only accelerated the challenges companies face in meeting customer service and financial goals. At the same time, there is significant pressure on boards and executives from customers and employees to also drive meaningful improvements in sustainability goals."
General Atlantic, its BeyondNetZero venture and Generation Investment Management join KKR as investors in o9, valuing the company at $2.7 billion. This marks an increase from the $1 billion valuation in April 2020 at the time of the company's first-ever external investment led by KKR, which is also participating in this funding round. This capital raise follows a record year during which the company reported a greater than threefold increase year-over-year in annual recurring revenue (ARR) from new customers.
Sanjiv Sidhu, chairman and co-founder, o9, said, "A sustainable supply chain requires companies to digitally transform their planning and decision-making capabilities. o9's Digital Brain platform makes us the partner of choice for companies across the world."
"We believe that o9 is uniquely positioned at the intersection of technology, supply chain, and sustainability," said Tanzeen Syed, managing director, General Atlantic.
Joy Tuffield, partner in the growth equity strategy at Generation Investment Management, said, "Generation's brand is predicated on the belief that long-term commercial opportunity is synonymous with sustainable outcomes. We believe the best businesses stand for something significant. Sustainability and supply chain issues have never been more important. o9 is one of the rare companies that we believe can help global enterprises leverage the power of digital technologies to deliver on both imperatives."
