Follow-On Round by Repeat Investors Equinor Ventures, Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures and L37 to Power Blockchain Smart Contracts and Automated ESG Measurements for Industry
Data Gumbo, provider of GumboNet™ — the massively interconnected industrial smart contract network secured and powered by blockchain, today announced that it has closed its Series B funding round totaling $7.7 million with follow-on investments led by Equinor Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Equinor, with participation from Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures, the corporate venture capital fund of Saudi Aramco, and Bay Area and Houston-based venture firm L37.
Data Gumbo’s first close of the Series B round was announced in September 2020 at $4 million. The additional funds to close the Series B will be used to scale Data Gumbo to serve demand for GumboNet™ and GumboNet™ ESG. Additionally, Data Gumbo plans to establish a presence in the Middle East to cover expected demand growth in the region.
“The successful close of our series B is continued proof of the efficacy and booming interest in our ability to capture critical cost savings, deliver trust and provide transparency across commercial relationships,” said Andrew Bruce, Founder and CEO, Data Gumbo. “Compounded by the growing demand for transparent, accurate sustainability data and the launch of our automated ESG measurement solution, GumboNet™ ESG, Data Gumbo’s trajectory is well-positioned to serve our growing customer base by ensuring economic productivity and value. This infusion of capital will support our expansion efforts as we bring more international users to our network.”
With total funding raised to date at $18.4 million, the company has achieved notable milestones including being named to The CB Insights Blockchain 50, recognized as ‘Disruptive Innovator’ in the Forbes Energy Awards 2020, more than doubling the size of the company in 2020 including expansion of its executive team, building a robust customer pipeline and adding several strategic partnerships into new industries.
Investor Quotes
“Equinor’s recent pilot at the Johan Sverdrup field has demonstrated that GumboNet can create strong value for the partnership,” said Gareth Burns, Head of Equinor Ventures. “Our follow-on investment confirms Equinor Ventures’ confidence in Data Gumbo’s solution for our company and the broader energy industry.”
“Data Gumbo’s success is marked by a wide variety of business use cases and opportunities for expansion,” said Bruce Niven, Chief Investment Officer, Aramco Ventures “Our continued investment is a testament to our continued support as the company attracts new customers, experiences further demand for its network and gains traction in new markets.”
“Data Gumbo is the market leader for smart contracts backed by blockchain, and the coming year will be a period of exponential growth for the company as they penetrate new industrial markets,” said Kemal Farid, Partner at L37. “We believe strongly that GumboNet will become the de facto network for smart contracts across industries for capturing value and solving enormous pain points in contractual relations. Additionally, as companies move to meet increasing sustainability measurement demands and ESG improvements, there is a huge growth path available for Data Gumbo with the launch of GumboNet ESG.”
About Equinor Ventures
Equinor Ventures is Equinor’s corporate capital venture arm dedicated to investing in attractive and ambitious early phase and growth companies. We believe that the innovation, creativity and agility of startups can drive change and transition the energy industry toward a low carbon future. We deliver strategic business impact by connecting external innovation to Equinor. For more information, visit https://www.equinor.com/en/what-we-do/equinor-ventures.html.
About Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures
Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures LLC (SAEV) is the corporate venture fund of Aramco Ventures, the Venture Capital subsidiary of Aramco, the world’s leading fully integrated energy and chemical enterprise. Headquartered in Dhahran with offices in North America, Europe and Asia, SAEV’s mission is to invest globally in startup and high growth companies with technologies of strategic importance to its parent company. For more information, visit www.saev.com.
About L37
L37 is a new generation, hybrid venture capital and private equity company. We invest in visionary founders and companies who want to solve problems and transform industries. We work alongside founding teams, leveraging frameworks and our network of trusted relationships with customers, capital and talent to design new categories and engineer market-first, globally-minded companies. For more information, please visit www.L37.vc.
