UK data science firm used by Disney and PepsiCo raises £6.2m Series B

Launched in 2011, the firm uses big data and predictive science technologies for consumer marketing – a service that has resulted in a 134 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR).

Albion Ventures, Blackstone and Mitsui are behind the £6.2m round, which will drive growth globally, building on the London-headquartered firm’s offices in Bristol, Exeter, Hungary, LA, New York, Toronto, Singapore and South Africa.

The senior management team is also in the process of being developed, with recent appointments including a US MD and product director to join a company-wide headcount of 240 people.

Meanwhile, its Nest product platform will be expanded with the capital too. The Nest delivers “deep” customer insights to clients by connecting public data with private data. This combination has allowed Black Swan to work with the likes of Disney, PepsiCo, Vodafone, Samsung and Panasonic.

“Black Swan’s seen some phenomenal growth over the last 18 months and this has been reflected in the conversations we’ve been having with investors and clients alike,” said Steve King, CEO and co-founder at Black Swan.

“At the start of the year, it was very straightforward to raise the amount we wanted from Blackstone and Mitsui, but there was an opportunity to add to the round with Albion Ventures to accelerate our plans further.”

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Citing Gartner research, Black Swan noted that 90 per cent of all data was created in the past two years and 70 per cent of companies buy external data. As a result, the advanced analytics market is worth $16bn.

“We’re at the forefront of this industry opportunity and we’re working with some of the world’s biggest brands to help them not only make sense of the data around them, but use to gain a competitive advantage and better engage with their audiences,” King added.

Offering insight on the reason for the investment, Albion Ventures partner Ed Lascelles said that he believes firms which harness data intelligently will “lead the way”.

“Black Swan has the potential to become the leading provider of automated, predictive analytics to the digital marketing sector,” he added.

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Image: Shutterstock

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