Investors Pay High Price for Starburst Data at $1.6 Billion Valuation

Enterprise software startup Starburst Data is raising a Series C financing at a post-money valuation of up to $1.6 billion, tripling the value of its private stock from six months ago despite relatively small revenue, according to an updated company charter. Andreessen Horowitz had been in the running to lead the round, two people familiar with the deal said.

Andreessen would be joining a small pool of backers, including Coatue Management and Index Ventures, in funding the three-year-old Boston startup, which sells software to help companies search and analyze their data. The capital raise authorizes the sale of $118 million worth of Series C shares, according to an updated company charter, and would give it a valuation of about 130 times Starburst’s annualized recurring revenue of around $12 million as of a month ago. That’s an aggressive valuation multiple for a midstage startup, even amid strong investor demand for public software stocks that has boosted interest in privately held startups.