CData Software, which helps companies manage their data, raises $350 million

CData Software , a Chapel Hill startup that helps companies manage their data across different apps and infrastructures, has raised $350 million from investors.

Why it matters: This is one of the largest fundraising efforts from a Triangle startup this year and could lead to significant hiring at the Chapel Hill company, CData CEO Amit Sharma told Axios.

Driving the news: The funding comes from the private equity company Warburg Pincus, the venture capital firm Accel and existing investor Updata.

• CData, which says it is profitable and nearing $100 million in recurring revenue, declined to share how the deal valued the company.
• But Reuters reported the company's round values at more than $800 million.

What it does: Founded in 2016, CData helps companies connect and manage data from a variety of sources, both internal and on the cloud, with applications.

• The company works with around 7,000 companies, including Office Depot, Holiday Inn and FedEx, helping them move data to cloud networks while remaining useable across their apps.

The big picture: CData's funding round seems to buck a trend. Startups in the Triangle have experienced a challenging last few years in terms of fundraising thanks to high interest rates.

What's next: CData has around 350 employees, mostly based in Chapel Hill, Sharma said. The company does hire remotely but prefers bringing in talent from the Triangle area or the East Coast.

• Sharma said CData will significantly expand its marketing and sales teams with the money and potentially use it to acquire other companies.

What they're saying: A rush to invest in artificial intelligence models using privately owned data is increasing interest in CData's services, Sharma said in an interview.

• "We believe that the business is at an inflection point where we need to double down just because the window around AI is opening up," he said.
• These companies' "ability to actually use AI with their proprietary data and data within the organization is the next level of growth, and we are part of that journey."