Indian data analytics company Course5 Intelligence on Thursday said it has closed a $28-million funding round led by 360 ONE Asset Management Ltd and will be raising another $27 million from other premier investors shortly.
Course5 Intelligence aims to enable organisations to solve complex issues relating to their customers, markets, and supply chain at speed and scale in sectors including consumer goods and services, life sciences, research and consulting firms, retail, technology, and telecom and media.
With the new funds, Course5 plans to ramp up its investments in innovation and advanced AI technology in areas such as deep learning, computer vision, natural language, and generative AI.
The company said it is in talks with several M&A prospects that would add strategic capabilities or IP to complement its existing bouquet of solutions. It plans to cross $100 million in revenue in the next fiscal year.
The company’s plans to raise a big funding round come despite the ongoing funding winter driven by multiple factors such as rate hikes in developed markets, the geopolitical situation in Eastern Europe, and COVID-related supply-chain shocks.
Indian startups raised a total of $3.36-billion funding in the first quarter of 2023, down 72% from the last year, according to data from DealStreetAsia DATA VANTAGE’s latest report India Deal Review: Q1 2023.
At this run rate, Indian startups are expected to raise just over $13 billion in 2023. In comparison, startups had raised $12 billion in the first quarter of 2022 alone. For the entire 2022, startup fundraising stood at $26.5 billion, down sharply from the $46 billion raised in 2021.
Ashwin Mittal, Chairman and CEO of Course5 Intelligence, said the company has been experiencing strong demand for its analytics and AI solutions from current and new clients.
The company filed its draft prospectus in Jan 2022. It is planning to launch its IPO in the next 18 months.
Course5’s IPO plans come at a time when experts argue this is not the best time to pursue a public offering in India as several IPO-bound companies have either postponed or called off their plans. Several others also trimmed their IPO target size to more modest levels.
Several factors, including a market correction, high valuation multiples, and low earnings of IPO hopefuls, the outflow of foreign capital amid rising interest rates, governance problems at large corporations, and more stringent norms by SEBI have resulted in the weak IPO sentiment.
Earlier this month, Mankind Pharma, the maker of Manforce brand condoms and pregnancy test kits, rallied 32% on its debut on the Indian stock exchange, setting the stage for other IPO hopefuls in an otherwise muted public market this year.