AI startup Fractal becomes unicorn with $360 million investment from TPG – TechCrunch

Fractal has raised $360 million from TPG in a new financing round and entered the unicorn club as the Mumbai and San Francisco-headquartered AI startup, which counts Google and Wells Fargo among its customers, scales its offerings and begins preparation for an IPO.

The new financing round valued the startup “at well north of $1 billion,” said Srikanth Velamakanni, co-founder and group chief executive at Fractal, in an interview with TechCrunch. TPG invested in the startup through its TPG Capital Asia, its Asia-focused private equity platform. The new round involves some secondary share purchase as well.

Fractal Analytics provides artificial intelligence and analytics solutions to scores of Fortune 100 firms. Its offerings include Qure.ai, which assists radiologists in making better diagnostic decisions. Theremin.ai helps firms improve investment decisions; Eugenie.ai assists in finding anomalies in high-velocity data; Samya.ai is fueling next-generation enterprise revenue growth management, and Senseforth.ai helps automate customer interactions at scale to grow top-line and bottom-line.

“Our clients are all looking to digitize their businesses and offer more personalized solutions to their customers,” he said. A telecom operator, for instance, works with Fractal to remove friction that customers face in signing up for a multi-year contract. “We also work with them on areas such as improving efficiencies, productivity, supply chain planning and forecasting. This is becoming more and more crucial.”

The startup, which employs over 3,500 individuals globally, also helps its clients with decision-making actions, Velamakanni said. The startup also incubates and invests in AI projects, he explained.

“We continue to see great momentum in how clients are leveraging AI to accelerate digital transformation. Fractal is building a great workplace and an innovative culture that’s driving significant client outcomes through our ‘user focused, decision-backwards’ approach to solving problems,” said Velamakanni.

“TPG’s capabilities across all our markets and their proven success in building and supporting top AI providers is the perfect complement to the partnership we’ve enjoyed with Apax, whose insight and expertise have been instrumental in accelerating our growth.”

This is a developing story. More to follow…