Software startup Observe raises $156 million in Sutter Hill-led fundraise
The San Mateo, California-based startup has pitched itself as a one-stop alternative to data monitoring and analytics tools from Datadog (DDOG.O), opens new tab and Cisco-owned Splunk, aiming to simplify how businesses detect failures in complex systems.
The Series C round was joined by existing investors Madrona Ventures, Alumni Ventures as well as the venture capital arms of cloud company Snowflake and U.S. bank Capital One, Observe said on Wednesday, declining to share its valuation
Observe said it plans to use the funds to accelerate product development and expand its North American presence, including hiring more sales staff to grow its nearly 200-strong team.
It stores all customer data in a single, central "lake" built on Snowflake and offers a lower-cost alternative to larger rivals, a strategy that has helped it attract about 100 clients, including Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA.AX), opens new tab.
"We've deliberately, I'd say over the last 18 months, moved our go-to-market away from the smaller organizations. So, we've been focused on companies operating at scale," CEO Jeremy Burton said in an interview. "Capital One is our biggest customer. But Commonwealth Bank actually is very close."
Observe has tripled its revenue over the past year and has a 93% gross retention and 180% net revenue retention, the company said, in signs of customer loyalty in a market where clients are chasing lower costs.
The startup, which raised $115 million in a Series B round, opens new tab last year, is using artificial intelligence to power an assistant that helps users query data in plain English and diagnose issues without writing complex code.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
4 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Musk open to merger between his company xAI and Apple
Elon Musk has been openly hinting at a historic merger in the business world, suggesting that his company xAI should partner with tech giant Apple. Musk's company is the corporate face of his popular AI chatbot Grok, which functions similarly to competitors like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Copilot. Meanwhile, Apple has struggled to bring its own AI programs to consumers, notably delaying improvements to the Siri voice assistant until 2026. Venture capitalists started openly speculating this month that Musk and Apple make the perfect power couple in the AI world, with xAI bringing Grok to even more people using iPhones through this proposed partnership. On the All-In Podcast, investor Gavin Baker called xAI's Grok4 'the best product' in terms of AI chatbots right now, but added that 'the best product doesn't always win in technology.' 'I think there is solid industrial logic for a partnership. You could have Apple Grok, Safe Grok, whatever you want to call it,' said Baker, the Chief Investment Officer of Atreides Management LP, in a video posted to X on July 19. Musk quickly replied to the comments, saying 'Interesting idea.' The billionaire then added 'I hope so!' while responding to another post suggesting that Apple partnering with xAI was a better option than competitors like Anthropic. A partnership between the two companies could integrate xAI's Grok chatbot into Apple's devices, such as iPhones, iPads, and Macs, potentially replacing or augmenting Siri. A relationship between Musk's AI team and the $3.1 trillion Apple could also lead to smarter, more accurate AI assistants, addressing Apple's ongoing issues with AI development. Grok launched in 2023 as Musk's alternative to other chatbot which had sparked controversy for provided allegedly biased answers and citing information that had been made up. xAI has said that Grok is "designed to answer questions with a bit of wit," and the program has generally drawn widespread praise for its quick and accurate answers to prompts. Just just weeks ago, however, Grok 4 was engulfed in controversy for repeating far-right hate speech and white nationalist talking points about politics, race, and recent news events. Multiple users reported on July 8 and July 9 that Grok echoed anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, including claims that Jewish people controlled Hollywood, promoted hatred toward White people, and should be imprisoned in camps. In a post on X, xAI replied to these concerns: 'We are aware of recent posts made by Grok and are actively working to remove the inappropriate posts. Since being made aware of the content, xAI has taken action to ban hate speech before Grok posts on X,' the company added. Baker added that the deal Musk has been infatuated with would benefit xAI's reach significantly as well, since OpenAI's ChatGPT is currently used by nearly 800 million weekly active users, according to Demandsage. 'There's been a lot of news about Apple thinking about buying Perplexity or Mistral, but that's just a Band-Aid. Those companies don't get Apple what they need,' Baker said. To the investor's point, Perplexity AI is a search-engine-style AI company known for information retrieval and fact-finding tasks. It's currently valued at $18 billion. Mistral AI is a French AI firm valued at roughly $6.2 billion that's focused on easy-to-use, open-source language models. They've worked with partners like Cisco to help with tasks like research and automation. On the other hand, xAI and its Grok chatbot stand out with a current valuation of up to $200 billion and a distribution reaching 35.1 million monthly active users. Baker explained that 'xAI and Apple are natural partners,' especially after OpenAI made a multi-billion-dollar deal to create new devices that use their AI technology without relying on the iPhone. In May, OpenAI bought former Apple designer Jony Ive's hardware startup for a reported $6.5 billion. That deal brought Ive on as the AI company's new creative head, with the vision of building specialized gadgets that can use generative AI and ChatGPT without needing a smartphone or computer. While a deal between xAI and Apple is still only speculation, Musk recently turned heads by announcing that xAI was working on a new project called 'Baby Grok' which would be a new app designed to provide 'kid-friendly content.'
The Herald Scotland
31 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
The estate that could solve Scotland's problem with trees
The forests offer much needed shade in Greece and also allow a variety of species an environment where they can thrive. Here in Scotland it may feel like there are trees everywhere, but the exact opposite is true as it is one of the least forested countries on the planet. Just drive a small distance outside of the main population centres and you will be met with miles upon miles of bleak nothingness, apart from areas that are farmland. It comes as tree planting is seen as a key tranche in achieving net zero and with a projected housebuilding timber shortage on the horizon. But Scotland's forestry industry is facing a funding black hole of £24 million and national planting targets will not be met now for at least two years. A massive budget cut has knocked the forestry industry's confidence, potentially stalling planting projects and leading to trees being destroyed. Confor, the Confederation of Forest Industries representative body, signalled a wave of concern along the supply chain from tree nurseries to sawmills and wood-panel manufacturers. Scotland has consistently failed to meet its tree planting targets, aiming to plant amounts rising from 15,000 hectares, or 30 million trees, to now 18,000 ha each year, but the industry has faced harsh funding cuts. Rural Scots are right - maybe it is time to halt onshore windfarms Trump is right for once, it is time to drill, baby drill in the North Sea It is high time that irresponsible campervan users are taxed off the NC500 We're going to need a smaller boat: The large ferry dilemma for CalMac A 41% budget cut in 2023 was only partially restored last year by around 18% to £45m. Edinburgh-based Confor said a further £24m is needed for the target mathematics to work, but that low confidence is likely to impact new projects being brought forward. However, a 10,000-acre estate in the Highlands is a great example of what can be achieved with the proper ambition. Dundreggan rewilding centre in Glenmoriston has just been awarded special European status recognising its genetic diversity of tree species. Parts of the juniper and silver birch woodland at Trees for Life's site have been classed as Gene Conservation Units. A spokesperson for the conservation charity said the 'unusually wet location' of juniper and the 'extreme westerly location' of silver birch have helped make the tree populations unique. The classification has been awarded by the European Forest Genetic Resources Network (EUFORGEN) which is managed in the UK by nature agency Forest Research. The estate uses a 'dynamic conservation' technique to protect the trees' genetic diversity. The land is encouraged to regenerate naturally within its specific environment and weather conditions. Juniper is a slow-growing evergreen shrub or small tree, with small blue-green needles and berries that ripen to a dark, blue-purple colour. The species support biodiversity by providing shelter and food for wildlife. Juniper berries are also used to produce gin. Silver birch is a fast-growing species which spreads over open ground. The tree's roots draw up nutrients, and its leaves add richness to soil. The Gene Conservation Unit status means Dundreggan's juniper and silver birch will be monitored to ensure their survival and natural regeneration. The estate covers 10,000 acres and has so many rare species living within it that environmentalists have described it as a 'lost world'. Conservation charity Trees for Life bought the site for £1.65million which remains one of the UK's largest ever areas of land bought for forest regeneration. The former hunting estate was already home to ancient forest fragments, including outstanding areas of juniper and dwarf birch. The charity has since planted half a million trees at the site, ensuring natural regeneration of woodlands and encouraging the return of rare wildlife, plants and insects. A rare non-biting midge and several other species have since been discovered after surveys of the estate. In total, more than 3,300 species have now been recorded at the charity's forest restoration site with at least 68 of these are priority species for conservation. These include unusual species such as the strawberry spider with several never having been recorded in the UK before, or were feared extinct in Scotland. While it is relatively small in the grand scheme of things, it should be an inspiration for other land owners when it comes to rewilding land and planting forests. Scotland needs more native trees and it is baffling why such a large proportion of the country is entirely treeless. The timber industry is worth around £1billion a year to the economy but even commercial plantations barely scratch the surface of what is required. It is all well and good for ministers to set tree planting targets, but without proper funding these will never be met. Ministers should see what has been done elsewhere and replicate it at pace.
Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
Major UK retail chain to DEMOLISH ‘ghost town' store after collapsing into administration
The store is one of five commercial properties due to be knocked down TORN APART Major UK retail chain to DEMOLISH 'ghost town' store after collapsing into administration Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A MAJOR UK retail chain is poised to knock down a 'ghost town' branch after the firm fell into administration. The Wilko store located on Kirkgate in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, is earmarked for demolition so the southern entrance to the city centre can be redeveloped. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 The Wilko store on Kirkgate in Wakefiled has been earmarked for demolition Credit: Local Democracy Reporting Service The outlet shut its doors in 2023 after the high street chain of homestores went into administration. It is one of five commercial properties in the area that are due to be knocked down. They will be replaced with new homes and business units as part of a wider scheme by the local council to regenerate the area. Mini Market, Mattress and Divan Centre, Sweet Sensations and Hi Sushi are the other retail outlet set to be flattened as part of the plans. Wakefield Council was given nearly £25million worth of funding for the scheme from the government's Towns Fund in 2019. The work was approved following a planning proposal which had been submitted by the council but a planning officer's report said a further application would have to be submitted before the site could be redeveloped. Lower Kirkgate is a key route to get to the waterfront and is considered a major gateway to the city centre. The council had previously called the area a 'blight' on the city, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. It is also hoped that the redevelopment will encourage 'younger professionals' to live in the city centre and "bring year-round day and evening vibrancy" to the area, according to the council. Wilko closed its doors for good in 2023 after nearly a century in business, with more than 400 stores shutting and 12,000 staff affected. Visiting the new Wilko Store The news comes after the homeware giant Wayfair slashed its UK workforce by more than half in just two years, as it grapples with tumbling sales and a sharp drop in profit. The US-based furniture retailer, which operates across Britain, cut staff numbers from 847 in 2022 to just 405 by the end of 2024, according to fresh filings with Companies House. Wilko isn't the only retailer feeling the pinch on the high street. Furniture favourite collapsed into administration in 2022 after failing to find a buyer, leading to hundreds of job losses. Habitat also shut down all standalone stores in 2021, moving exclusively online after years of underperformance. Even major players have been forced to adapt. Argos has continued to reduce its physical footprint, shutting dozens of standalone shops and moving into parent company Sainsbury's stores to save costs. Retail experts say changing consumer habits, rising costs and weaker demand are continuing to batter the home and furniture sector. Many shoppers have tightened their belts amid soaring bills and higher interest rates, with big-ticket items like sofas and beds often the first to be cut from household budgets. RETAIL PAIN IN 2025 The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs will cost the retail sector £2.3billion. Research by the British Chambers of Commerce shows that more than half of companies plan to raise prices by early April. A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55% expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll conducted in the latter half of 2024. Three-quarters of companies cited the cost of employing people as their primary financial pressure. The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year. It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year. Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: "The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025." Professor Bamfield has also warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector. "By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer's household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020."
