Hybrid cloud data platform CTERA bags $80 million, mostly in secondary funding
Hybrid cloud data platform CTERA bags $80 million, mostly in secondary funding
CTERA has developed a software platform that enables distributed file storage in private and public cloud environments, combined with accelerated access from remote sites and AI-based protection against ransomware attacks.
Israeli company CTERA, which develops a hybrid cloud data platform, has raised $80 million from PSG Equity, an American investment fund specializing in software and technology companies in growth stages. The primary goal of this funding is to allow several veteran investors to exercise their holdings in the company. Consequently, a significant portion of the funding was secondary, while another part will be invested directly into the company. Ronen Nir, managing partner at PSG, has joined CTERA's board alongside existing shareholders from Bessemer, Benchmark, and Red Dot Capital. The company employs 150 people, half of whom are in Israel, with sales and support offices worldwide.
CTERA has developed a software platform that enables distributed file storage in private and public cloud environments, combined with accelerated access from remote sites and AI-based protection against ransomware attacks. CTERA provides solutions to hundreds of large corporations, including leading banks, insurance companies, healthcare organizations, media groups, and government agencies worldwide. The company's clients include McDonald's, the advertising companies WPP and Publicis, the US Department of Defense, and Bezeq in Israel. CTERA has strategic partnerships with IBM, HPE, and Hitachi Vantara, which sell the company's products as part of their portfolios.
"We are a profitable company that grows by about 25% each year. The fundraising will be used to accelerate growth. We are an old company with VCs that have been waiting for 12 years, and some of them needed their investments to be realized," Oded Nagel, the CEO of CTERA, tells Calcalist. "The main reason for the secondary fundraising is to allow these investors to realize their holdings." The investors who have now cashed out have returned the money they invested, though not with a significant profit. "We are currently bringing in millions of dollars and aim to reach revenues of tens of millions of dollars. We are also developing new products in the field of AI."
Founded in 2008, CTERA is led by Liran Eshel, the founder and chairman of the board of directors, and Oded Nagel, who was appointed CEO last year. The company employs approximately 150 people in Israel, the USA, England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Singapore, and India. CTERA has been recognized by the analyst firm GigaOm as the global leader in its field for three consecutive years.
PSG Equity invests in technology and software companies in growth stages and operates from offices in Boston, Kansas City, London, Madrid, Paris, and Tel Aviv. Since its inception, the fund has invested in 140 companies and assisted in the acquisition of 500 more, with a total amount of $20 billion. PSG Equity began operations in Israel in 2020 and has so far invested in eight companies for a total of $600 million.
