Big Data Platform Dataminr Scores $4.1 Billion Valuation

Somewhere between the analytical powers of an abacus and a crystal ball, you’ll find Dataminr.

The firm, which parses data to provide customers real-time insights, just secured $475 million in new funding at a $4.1 billion valuation. That puts it closer to crystal ball territory.

The Data Game

Founded in 2009, Dataminr’s platform offers analysis on anything from business intelligence to cybersecurity by using A.I. to sift through over 100,000 public data sources – from social media sites to blogs to the dark web and even radio transmissions.

Dataminr already counts the U.N. and half of Fortune 50 companies as customers, on top of more than 650 newsrooms like CNN and USA Today. A spokesman said its platform signals breaking events nearly four hours ahead of wire services like the Associated Press… Talk about a first-mover advantage.

And the New York-based firm’s enterprise segment has now doubled its revenue 3 years in a row, prompting an all-star team of investment firms to take notice:

• L.A. Dodgers owner Eldridge, Tesla backer Valor Equity Partners and others have just ponied up $475 million in new funding, bumping Dataminr’s valuation above $4 billion – a huge leap from its prior $1.6 billion valuation.
• Based on PitchBook data, the firm has now raised over $1 billion in outside funding.

Founder and CEO Ted Bailey said Dataminr will use the cash injection to continue reeling in corporate customers, growing international sales, and expanding its A.I. platform. Whispers of a 2023 IPO are starting to grow louder.

Minr Mistakes

Dataminr has had some proud moments. The firm burst onto the scene in 2011 by issuing an alert that Osama bin Laden was killed 23 minutes before major news organizations. And in 2019, Dataminr spotlighted early signs of the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, later identifying impending spikes in 14 U.S. states.

But not all of the firm’s exploits have been well-received. Dataminr’s data was used by police departments to surveil the George Floyd protests last year, and Twitter has gone as far as barring the firm from sharing tweet data with intelligence agencies.

Don’t Shoot The Messenger: Bailey downplayed the “misperceptions” of Dataminr’s activities, arguing the company simply delivers alerts, “just earlier.” But how customers use the data is the broader concern.

Market Research Futures predicts the global data analytics market will top $132 billion by 2026, so Dataminr has a lot more than just its reputation at stake.