Intelligent search platform Coveo raises $227 million at a valuation of over $1 billion

Coveo, an enterprise software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform that meshes unified search, analytics, and machine learning to unlock insights contained within big data for businesses, has raised $227 million in a round of funding led by Omers, with participation from Evergreen Coast Capital, FSTQ, and IQ, among others.

The company didn’t reveal its current valuation, except to say it’s now a “unicorn” (valued at over $1 billion), so the figure is likely at least 3 times more than its $370 million valuation last year. Moreover, Coveo revealed that Omers and other existing shareholders now own 15.5% of the company.

Founded out of Quebec, Canada in 2005, Coveo can connect to data from myriad sources, including cloud storage services — Gmail, Lithium, Microsoft Dynamics, Salesforce, Twitter, Zendesk, and YouTube — to help companies index all their content so it’s searchable from a single interface. Moreover, the technology allows online businesses, such as ecommerce platforms, to tailor their stores by combining visitor data with data from their existing databases, which can mean better personalized recommendations — less churn and more profit. Elsewhere, Coveo can help companies improve search through their own intranets and internal applications.

“We believe that to serve a million people you need to deliver a million unique experiences,” said Coveo CEO and chair Louis Tetu. “We help businesses globally become digital experience leaders and compete against digital giants, using data and AI to deliver the personalized, predictive, and profitable experiences expected in today’s market.”

Growth

Coveo claims some 1,500 deployments across major organizations, including Visa and Tableau, and said its subscription revenues have grown 55% year-on-year (YoY). It also now claims 500 employees spread across Quebec City, Montreal, San Francisco, and London.

The company had previously raised nearly $170 million in funding across five rounds dating back to 2006, and with another $227 million in the bank Coveo is well-financed for continued growth. This round follows a number of similarly big raises from rivals in the enterprise search space. In the past few months alone, Lucidworks raised $100 million while Algolia secured a $110 million investment, confirmation that investors are attracted by the premise of unlocking big data insights through intelligent search.

“We believe that Coveo is the market leader in leveraging data and AI to personalize at scale,” added Omers managing director Mark Shulgan. “Coveo fits our investment thesis precisely: an A-plus leadership team with deep expertise in enterprise SaaS, a Fortune 1000 customer base who deeply love the product, and a track record of high growth in a market worth over $100 billion.”