SingleStore secures $116M in funding to fuel growth

Earmarked funds

In addition to steady product development, the vendor used previous funding rounds to expand its sales team fivefold, enhance its go-to-market strategy and build up the vendor's back office -- including, for example, its human resources department. SingleStore has been growing from a small company into one seeking to grab a larger share of the $100 billion database market, according to CEO Raj Verma.

The $116 million will enable SingleStore to continue investing in product development and marketing as it attempts to increase its market share.

Our market is so big and we feel there will be a handful of players that will be $1 billion-plus companies over the next three to five years, and we want to be one of them. In order for us to get there, we have to continue to out-innovate our competitors.

"Our market is so big, and we feel there will be a handful of players that will be $1 billion-plus companies over the next three to five years, and we want to be one of them," Verma said. "In order for us to get there, we have to continue to out-innovate our competitors."

With respect to marketing, Verma noted that SingleStore doesn't have the same level of the name recognition as some of its competitors and will attempt to change that.

"We will spend a large part of [the funding] on awareness creation," he said. "When people get their hands on SingleStore and use it, they love us. But they don't know about us, so we want to get SingleStore in the hands of developers more and more."

While the new funding will enable SingleStore to continue advancing its database technology and grow its recognition, it will also help the vendor potentially withstand what could be a difficult economic climate.

The stock market has declined precipitously throughout 2022 -- the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index are all down over 13% to date this year, with the Nasdaq off about 26%. New funding for tech vendors has become more scarce as the markets have declined and inflation has skyrocketed, leading to fears of a recession.

Should venture funding dry up altogether for a time, SingleStore, which Verma said already had $110 million in reserves, will have gotten out in front of the drought, according to Matt Aslett, an analyst at Ventana Research.

"[The funding] will enable the company to accelerate its investment in sales and marketing, as well as research and development and geographic expansion," he said. "I have seen also examples of organizations raising funding now while it is available in anticipation of what is expected to be a more challenging investment environment, so that may also be a consideration."

Aslett added that the $116 million could serve as a hedge against future troubles securing funding. In addition, he continued, SingleStore's ability to raise financing in an already difficult market is evidence that the vendor is seen as having a strong future no matter what happens to the economy.

One of the capabilities that differentiates SingleStore from some peers is its hybrid data processing capability, which enables both batch and stream processing. With adoption still in its early stages as organizations only begin to understand alternatives to traditional data processing methods -- and require new methods to deploy applications with augmented intelligence capabilities -- SingleStore has a significant growth opportunity, he noted.

"This is certainly a validation of the opportunity for SingleStore and its positioning to support growing demand for intelligent operational applications infused with personalization and AI-driven recommendations," Aslett said. "Any organization considering the development of applications fitting that description are advised to consider … the potential role that SingleStore could play."

Future plans

An initial public stock offering could be next for SingleStore, according to Verma.

Current market conditions are unfavorable for IPOs and numerous data and analytics vendors -- Qlik and SAS among them -- are waiting for a more favorable climate before going public. But Verma said he still wants SingleStore to eventually go public and has been making personnel moves to position the company for an eventual move to the public markets.

Most recently, the vendor added Brad Kinnish in June as its new CFO. Kinnish was CFO at Aryaka Networks for more than two years before joining SingleStore. In 2021, SingleStore brought in longtime SAS executive Oliver Schabenberger as chief innovation officer.

"We continue to work toward operating as a public company," Verma said. "I think the discipline it takes to be a public company makes us a better company. Whether we do an IPO is a decision we will make, but we think a company the size we will be a year from now has the potential to be a very successful public company."

But SingleStore will not be in a rush to go public, he added.

Beyond an IPO, SingleStore's roadmap includes continued investment in its distributed SQL capabilities, enabling real-time analytics and enhancing its overall user experience. In addition, SingleStore plans to expand into new markets, according to Verma.

"A lot of money is going to go into pursuing these three innovations," he said. "We also feel there is a huge untapped market for SingleStore in the international markets, so we will be making international investments."

Goldman Sachs led the funding round and participants included Sanabil, Dell Technologies Capital, Google Ventures, Hewlett Packard Enterprises, Rev Venture Partners Ltd., IBM and Insight Partners. Insight Partners led SingleStore's two previous rounds in December 2020 and September 2021.