Open source database platform InfluxData raises $35M Series C led by SAP's Sapphire Ventures, says 120K sites and 400 businesses use its platform
Ron Miller / TechCrunch :
Context & Ripple Effects
InfluxData's $35M Series C, led by Sapphire Ventures — the venture arm tied to SAP — lands on adoption numbers rather than promises: 120K sites and 400 businesses running its time series platform. The round fits a pattern at Sapphire itself, which went on to lead Alation's $50M data-catalog Series C a year later.
It also sits inside a broader funding wave for open-source databases: ScyllaDB extended its Series C to $60M later in 2019, MariaDB added a $25M extension on top of its own C, and Yugabyte eventually raised a $188M Series C at a $1.3B valuation — also led by Sapphire.
First-order effects
- InfluxData gets the balance sheet to scale InfluxDB beyond its current 400-business base, while Sapphire adds a time series specialist to a portfolio it keeps extending across the data stack.
Second-order effects
- Rival open-source database vendors — ScyllaDB, MariaDB, Yugabyte — respond by topping up their own rounds, turning Series C extensions into the standard defensive move to keep pace on engineering and go-to-market spend.
Third-order effects
- If the Sapphire pattern holds — InfluxData, Alation, then Yugabyte at unicorn scale — corporate-affiliated venture arms become the consolidating force deciding which open-source database categories get funded into incumbency.
The trend: Open-source database startups are scaling through ever-larger Series C rounds, with corporate-backed investors like Sapphire Ventures acting as the category kingmakers.