Boston-based cloud storage firm Wasabi decided to borrow $27.5 million for the construction of four more data centers in its move to expand services in Europe, Japan, and the U.S.
The company reported a massive growth, ‘tripled than last year’ that’s why CEO David Friend isn’t looking at debt as it is, rather, more opportunities to expand in the cloud storage business.
The billion-dollar industry is set to grow 22.3 percent more, or $137 million, according to the Research and Markets. Wasabi has a clear strategic focus on cloud-based data storage and how businesses can maximize their capabilities when storing and managing data.
The debt will be eventually covered, and if the services scale up, the company will benefit. Additionally, the massive growth can also attract more opportunities as investors can increase in a matter of time.
Wasabi now has revolving funds of $140 million, and this will be used mostly for opening up the new data centers and hiring more staff. The additional data centers in new geographies will open up more doors to dominate in the cloud storage industry.
The company is offering a public cloud object storage, about 20 percent lower compared to Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) cost with the same data access. CEO Friend said the new cash infusion is Wasabi’s first and major institutional debt, an important milestone for the company.
“The financing provides our company with stable, long-term support to drive our rapid growth,” added Friend.
Back in April, the company followed with a $30 million funding round, as it saw an increase in its revenue, about three times. Under the same management, the company recorded a jump of 150 percent, compared to 2018 revenue.
Additionally, the customer growth has reached 21,000 by January 2021, from May’s data of only 15,000. The acquisition rate reached 700+/month, with more than 4,000 channel partners.
Meanwhile, AWS, which dominates in the cloud industry, also reported a huge increase in its revenue, about 33 percent. In 2020, its revenue went to $40 billion, mainly from working with the larger market in cloud storage.
AWS controlled roughly 45 percent of the whole cloud infrastructure market, with estimated revenue of $371 billion. Its closest competitor is Microsoft Azure, but AWS enjoys a comfortable lead with 96 percent growth in global IT spending.
Wasabi entered the undisclosed deal with MGG Investment Group to finance marketing, sales, and construction of new data centers.
