Buzzy AI software startup UiPath in talks to raise a mega funding round at possible $7 billion valuation
- Buzzy software robots startup UiPath is in talks with investors about a major new funding round that could double its valuation from $3 billion to as much as $7 billion, sources told Business Insider.
- The round, which will likely close in early April, is led by institutional investors including Coatue, with likely participation from others like T. Rowe Price, one source said.
- It could make UiPath - which builds software robots that can carry out repetitive, back-office functions - the world's most valuable AI startup.
- The company has raised hundreds of millions of dollars in the past two years. It was valued around just $110 million in April 2017. By September 2018, it was valued at $3 billion.
Buzzy robotics software company UiPath is in talks with investors about a big new round of funding that could double its valuation from $3 billion to as much as $7 billion, multiple sources told Business Insider.
The talks, which are ongoing, could infuse the company with $300 million to $400 million in new capital, people familiar with the matter said.
While the official figures are still in flux, the sources said UiPath's post-raise valuation will be at least $6 billion, but could also be as high as $7 billion.
This means it would easily surpass Chinese firm SenseTime as the world's most valuable AI startup. SenseTime was last valued at $4.5 billion in a June 2018 funding round.
UiPath counts Accel, CapitalG, and Sequoia Capital among its backers. But the new funding round, a Series D, is led by institutional investors, including the large technology hedge fund Coatue, with others like T. Rowe Price and Blackstone likely joining the round, the person said.
UiPath bills itself as a "robotic process automation" company, meaning that it uses software to carry out mundane, repetitive tasks, such as extracting data from bank statements for accounting purposes. This, in turn, frees up human workers.
The company has had particular success with customers in government, from the Army to the Internal Revenue Service. Its software can also be used in banking, running checks on suspicious activity to help a human fraud prevention analyst.
New funding has super-charged growth
This new round of funding comes just months after UiPath raised $225 million in a Series C, led by Capital G and Sequoia, that valued the company at $3 billion.
The funding has supercharged the company's path to growth. Business Insider reported massive revenue growth at UiPath in January, with sources saying the firm would soon hit $200 million annual recurring revenue. The company had just $3.5 million in ARR in 2016.
A spokeswoman for UiPath wouldn't confirm the round, but said "if and when we raise additional funding, we will make a formal announcement."
Read more: Leaked numbers reveal massive revenue growth at $3 billion Google-backed startup UiPath
She added: "UiPath is experiencing tremendous growth and momentum, which is attracting an increased level of attention and interest in the company."
UiPath is part of a new wave of AI software firms with spiking valuations, as venture capitalists jump on the trend of companies trying to automate out the most repetitive software processes.
British software firm Blue Prism counts Microsoft and Google among its clients and reached unicorn valuation in 2018. California-based Automation Anywhere likewise raised $300 million from SoftBank's Vision Fund in November.
UiPath is headquartered in New York and was founded in 2005 in Romania by ex-Microsoft employee Daniel Dines. The company counts Autodesk, BMW, and Huawei among its enterprise clients.