Fractal, a US-based artificial intelligence firm, becomes the second unicorn in 2022 with the latest investment of $360 million from the private equity firm TPG Capital Asia. The funding will close by the first quarter of 2022.
With the latest investment, the company’s valuation has exceeded $1 billion, according to industry sources. Mamaearth, valued at $1.2 billion, was the first unicorn in 2022.
After Mu Sigma, this is the second firm in India in the pure-play analytics space to reach the unicorn status. This also comes at a time when the analytics space is gaining huge interest from investors. For instance, Chennai-based LatentView Analytics saw a huge response for its IPO last year.
The transaction includes a combination of primary investment and secondary share purchase from Funds advised by Apax, who will remain a major shareholder following the transaction, the company said in a statement. Apax bought a $200 million stake in Fractal in 2019. This investment comes at a time when the company is weighing IPO, according to a Bloomberg report.
Fractal was founded in 2000 in Mumbai and established its base in the US in 2005 by five people including group CEO Srikanth Velamakanni and Pranay Agrawal, CEO. It employs 3,500 people across 16 global locations, including the United States, the UK, Ukraine, India, Singapore, and Australia. Fractal’s products include Qure.ai to assist radiologists in making better diagnostic decisions.
As part of the transaction, TPG’s Puneet Bhatia and Vivek Mohan will join Fractal’s board of directors. All current directors including Gavin Patterson, Rohan Haldea, Shashank Singh, and Gulu Mirchandani will continue to serve on the company’s board.
Pranay Agrawal, Co-founder & CEO, Fractal, said in a statement, “The demand for AI is surging across the enterprise. Our AI solutions and products, along with our globally recognised team of experts, empower these organisations to realise and maximise their full potential. As we continue to build upon this foundation, the investment from TPG will accelerate our ability to scale and meet this rising demand globally.”
Srikanth Velamakanni, Co-founder and Group CEO, Fractal, said in the statement, "TPG capabilities across all our markets and their proven success in building and supporting top AI providers is the perfect complement to the partnership we have enjoyed with Apax, whose insight and expertise have been instrumental in accelerating our growth.”
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