PALO ALTO, Calif. and
RADNOR, Pa., Nov. 5, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Cask Data,
Inc., the open source software company that helps developers
deliver enterprise-class Apache Hadoop™ solutions
more quickly and effectively, announced that it's raising a
$20 million Series B financing round
led by Safeguard Scientifics, Inc. (NYSE: SFE) with participation
from Battery Ventures, Ignition Partners and other existing
investors. Proceeds will be used to expand Cask's platform
enhancements and develop a broad sales team.
Cask accelerates the development and deployment of production
Hadoop applications. Hadoop is the industry standard open source
software framework for large-scale data applications. Cask's
flagship offering, the Cask Data Application Platform ("CDAP"),
provides an open source layer on top of the Hadoop ecosystem that
adds enterprise-class governance, portability, security,
scalability and transactional consistency. From Data Lakes to Data
Apps, the CDAP platform is ideal for enterprise environments
because it abstracts many layers of the Hadoop ecosystem, allowing
developers to use their existing skills to build high-performance,
large-scale Big Data applications. This dramatically accelerates
development of applications and deployment into production, cutting
average time to implement by more than 80%, while retaining the
operational controls required by today's enterprise customers.
Major customers and partners include AT&T, Cloudera,
Salesforce, Pet360 and Lotame.
"Big data has moved into the mainstream, but enterprises
continue to struggle with the complexities and new skill sets
required in the Hadoop ecosystem," said Cask Founder and CEO,
Jonathan Gray. "Because our platform
can layer on top of any distribution, instantly integrate with new
and existing data stores, and easily support both Spark or
MapReduce, it delivers real value for enterprises in a data-heavy
environment, slashing development and deployment timelines. We are
excited to be a part of the Safeguard family of partner companies.
This financing, along with the operational expertise and guidance
from our new board members Phil and Frank, will allow us to take
Cask to the next level."
"Ignition has been a long-time believer in the importance of
application enablement for Hadoop, and we know that businesses of
all sizes and developers remain challenged to deliver real value in
reasonable amounts of time," said Frank
Artale, managing partner at Ignition Partners. "We have
invested in, and partnered closely with, Cask since they were just
an idea in their seed round, and look forward to working with them
to take advantage of what we see as an original way to address
these challenges and simplify the application enablement
process."
"We are really pleased to get this opportunity to work with the
Cask team," said Philip D. Moyer, Managing Director, Technology at
Safeguard. "Data volumes are multiplying at an astronomical rate,
making Hadoop an exceptionally fast growing market. Jon, Nitin and
the entire Cask team are very respected in the open source Hadoop
community for their contributions and leadership in the build out
of enterprise capabilities for Hadoop. Cask is transactional,
scalable, portable, governable, open, and secure. Cask's
combination of deep technical capabilities, strong financial growth
and enterprise class customer traction makes the company a leader
in the market and an exciting addition to Safeguard's
portfolio."
About Cask
Cask (www.cask.co) is an open source big
data software company focused on developers. Cask's flagship
offering, the Cask Data Application Platform, makes it possible to
quickly and easily develop and deploy more powerful applications
for Hadoop. Based in Palo Alto,
CA, the company is backed by leading investors including
Safeguard Scientifics (NYSE:SFE), Battery Ventures and Ignition
Partners. Learn more at www.cask.co or follow us on Twitter
@caskdata.
About Safeguard Scientifics
Safeguard Scientifics,
Inc. (NYSE:SFE) has a distinguished track record of fostering
innovation and building market leaders. For six decades, Safeguard
has been providing growth capital and operational support to
entrepreneurs across an evolving spectrum of industries. Today,
Safeguard is focused specifically on two sectors—healthcare and
technology. Specifically, Safeguard targets early- and growth-stage
companies in advertising technology, digital media, financial
technology, enterprise software, Internet of Things, devices,
diagnostics, digital health and healthcare IT. For more
information, please visit www.safeguard.com or follow us
on Twitter @safeguard.
Forward-looking Statements
Except for the historical information and discussions
contained herein, statements contained in this release may
constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Our
forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties.
The risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to
differ materially include, among others, our ability to make good
decisions about the deployment of capital, the fact that our
partner companies may vary from period to period, our substantial
capital requirements and absence of liquidity from our partner
company holdings, fluctuations in the market prices of our publicly
traded partner company holdings, competition, our inability to
obtain maximum value for our partner company holdings, our ability
to attract and retain qualified employees, market valuations in
sectors in which our partner companies operate, our inability to
control our partner companies, our need to manage our assets to
avoid registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940, and
risks associated with our partner companies, including the fact
that most of our partner companies have a limited history and a
history of operating losses, face intense competition and may never
be profitable, the effect of economic conditions in the business
sectors in which Safeguard's partner companies operate, and other
uncertainties described in our filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. Many of these factors are beyond the Company's
ability to predict or control. As a result of these and other
factors, the Company's past financial performance should not be
relied on as an indication of future performance. The Company does
not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements
or other information contained in this press release.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Vikram Bhan
408-718-6508
vikram@cask.co
Heather Hunter
215.531.2225
hhunter@safeguard.com
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SOURCE Safeguard Scientifics, Inc.