$250m Wasabi Technologies funding will ‘usher in the future of cloud storage’

Wasabi Technologies, a cloud storage company, has achieved unicorn status following $250 million in new funding.

Wasabi raised $125 million in Series D equity led by L2 Point Management with participation from Cedar Pine; an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management; and returning investors including Fidelity Management & Research Company and Forestay Capital, bringing the company’s valuation to over $1.1 billion. Wasabi also expanded its existing debt facility with MGG Investment Group to $125 million. Barclays acted as sole placement agent on the transaction.

Wasabi provides fast, affordable, and highly reliable cloud data storage for businesses all over the world at 1/5th the cost of large hyperscale providers or on-premises storage, with no charges for egress or API requests and no complex tiering. The company’s revenues more than doubled from 2020-2021, and Wasabi now has more than 40,000 customers in over 100 countries, 13,000 partners, 250+ global employees and 13 storage regions across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific.

The new equity will drive expansion into additional vertical markets and geographies, enhance Wasabi’s channel partnerships, and scale the company’s go-to-market team and global brand strategies. Meanwhile, the debt will be used to finance capital equipment and infrastructure in Wasabi’s storage regions around the world, and to invest in Wasabi’s technology capabilities to lay the groundwork for a new generation of cloud storage architecture.

David Friend, co-founder and CEO of Wasabi Technologies, said: “Closing a large up round in this environment speaks to the spectacular growth of Wasabi, the magnitude of the cloud storage opportunity, and our leadership as the industry’s largest pure-play cloud storage vendor. At Wasabi, we focus on just one thing: cloud storage. We do it better than anyone else in the industry. Because of this singular focus, our team has achieved best-in-class performance and security at the lowest prices in the industry.”

Kerstin Dittmar, managing partner of lead investor L2 Point, will join Wasabi’s Board of Directors, said: “Wasabi provides a game-changing product that offers customers a simpler, faster, and significantly more economical solution to their cloud data storage needs. We believe this capital raise will allow Wasabi to continue to expand its offering across additional services and geographies to meet their global customers’ needs.”

Sam Barnett, executive chairman of Cedar Pine, said: “We are proud to partner with Wasabi to provide innovative solutions in cloud storage and security. The importance of Wasabi’s technology is increasing in every industry.”

Kevin Griffin, CEO of MGG Investment Group, said: “We seek to partner with best in class entrepreneurs and companies and are excited to continue supporting Wasabi Technologies and their global expansion.”

In addition to the industry-leading performance of Wasabi hot cloud storage, the company partners with over 350 technology companies, including most of the world’s leading backup, disaster recovery, and surveillance companies. Wasabi is used to store data across a wide range of industries, including professional sports, energy and natural resources, finance, surveillance, education, manufacturing, consumer technology, healthcare, scientific research, and media and entertainment. 

Brian Shield, senior VP and CTO of the Boston Red Sox, said: “As our data needs continue to evolve, from player analytics, IoT, digital assets and even security, this presents an enormous learning opportunity for the organisation.

“Wasabi provides a cost-effective cloud-based solution that enables us to retrieve content quickly and improve the level of video analysis and production we do here at the Red Sox.”

Tags: funding, Storage