The Israeli startup Pyramid Analytics announced today (Monday) the completion of a $120 million mega-fundraiser led by HIG Growth Partners, with participation from Clal Insurance, Kingfisher Capital, General Oriental and Kreos Capital. Existing investors, JVP, Sequoia, Viola and Maor, also participated in the round. In a conversation with Geektime, the founder of the company explains that the company's next step is an IPO.

Data for everyone in an organization who needs it

Pyramid Analytics has built a BI platform that connects to all sources of data in an organization and provides relevant data to about 90% of users in said organization. The platform allows users of all skill levels to quickly share insights across an organization from any browser or device - without writing a passcode. In addition, the company's product allows the organization to leverage the existing data architecture and deploy it on the company's sites, in the cloud or a hybrid environment.

In a conversation with Geektime, Omri Kohl, CEO and founder of Pyramid, explains that the company focuses on a subcategory of the BI field called DI, or Decision Intelligence - that is, the data that enables relevant parties to make decisions in real-time. “Pyramid's AI capabilities automate insights for all users of the organization, differently and uniquely. According to a study by Gartner published two weeks ago, our company is in first place in AI for BI and overtakes all its competitors, including Tablet which was acquired by Salesforce, Click, Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, IBM and the likes."

Over the past year, the company has reached 2,500 corporate customers worldwide, and Kohl claims they have doubled its sales, while also entering the German market. Today, the company employs 250 people, most of whom are in fields of development in Israel, while the rest are in its offices in Germany, London, the United States and Dubai. The company's previous round of funding was completed in 2020 with the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic when it raised $25 million led by JVP.

Celebrating 13

Despite the impressive numbers, the number that caught my attention quite a bit is 2009 - which is when the company was founded by Kohl together with Avi Perez (CTO) and Herbert Ochtman. With the unbelievable pace of startups raising staggering amounts of money and being acquired for huge sums over the last two years, Pyramid's narrative seems almost outdated.

When I asked Kohl if Pyramid is where the team wanted it to be, he evades the question a bit, preferring to explain that the market in which the company operates is sophisticated, and therefore the company's goal was to bring out the best product: "In 2016, during the first years of its establishment, the company took all the data and decided that its overarching goal is to be the leading player in this category. For this purpose, the company has made significant changes and updates to its platform and launched both a new strategy and a new platform in early 2018." According to Kohl, in light of the fact that the founding team consists of serial entrepreneurs, they have no intention of selling the company, but rather want to make it a leading player in the analytics market.

And where do you want to be in two years?

"The company intends to remain an independent company that will continue to support its vision, service and customers worldwide, so our next move will be for an IPO."