South Bank analytics software startup raises £5.1m for US expansion

Enterprise analytics platform provider AVORA has raised $6.5m (£5.1m) in Series A funding.

The South Bank-based startup will use the cash to expand its leadership and sales teams, launch in the US and continue to develop its tech by enhancing its in-platform machine learning algorithms.

AVORA said the financing will also support the development of an app marketplace that will allow users to customise the platform.

The company utilises machine learning and augmented intelligence to offer insights and intelligence for businesses in seconds. Its clients include Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica, online supermarket Ocado and TV network HBO.

London’s Albion VC and existing investor Crane led the round, which included participation from previous backers Dr Steve Garnett, former EMEA chairman at Salesforce.com, and ex-Sage boss Stephen Kelly.

AVORA’s founder and chief exec, Ricky Thomas, said: “Real-time, comprehensive data analysis is vital for organisations.

“But, legacy solutions are characterised by complex and laborious IT-led deployments across multiple systems. This is slow, clunky and expensive. That’s why so many companies are ditching BI tools altogether – they just don’t work. I started this business out of that very frustration.”

He continued: “Our technology harnesses machine learning and augmented intelligence to revolutionise this problem, replacing fragmented legacy infrastructure with an end-to-end, continuous system of insights that is both faster to deploy and more flexible to use.

“We are delighted to announce our Series A funding round today as we look to further invest in developing our unique technology and expand to bring its benefits to new markets.”

Albion VC partner Ed Lascelles commented: “Businesses have been let down by intelligence tools at a time when data-driven strategic analysis is more important than ever.

“AVORA’s full stack system of intelligence is already transforming the operations of its clients. We are thrilled to support Ricky and the team and look forward to helping them go from strength to strength.”

Crane partner Scott Sage said: “There is a huge opportunity for companies to leverage all of the data sitting on disparate systems in the cloud and across various applications to create automated analytics.

“For too long, the BI market was focused on reporting as opposed to taking action. AVORA now enables actionable insights which have already transformed existing customers’ businesses.”

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