- Companies
- Knowde
Knowde Valuation, Funding & Investors
Knowde is valued at $500M as of August 2021.
Last Knowde valuation
$500M
Series B · Aug 2021
Last Knowde funding round
$60M
Series C · Aug 2024
Cumulative funding Knowde raised
$223M
across 6 funding rounds
Key investors in Knowde
Bee Partners
Cantos
Refactor
Sequoia Capital
Alumni Ventures
FJ Labs
About Knowde
Knowde is a software platform for the chemical industry, built on a taxonomy covering 100000 ingredients. San Francisco-headquartered since 2017 and backed by Sequoia Capital and Coatue, it connects 1000 suppliers and distributors. Features include product discovery, digital catalogs, and compliance data sharing for global operations.
Founded
2017
HQ
Website
Status
Privately held
Customer focus
B2B
Revenue model
Subscription
Valuation
$500M (Aug 2021)
Knowde Valuation
Knowde is currently valued at $500M, based on its Series B in August 2021.
The $72M round was led by Coatue, with participation from K5 Global, Sound Ventures, The Chainsmokers, Refactor, Alumni Ventures and 5 other investors.
Knowde's valuation has grown 8.3x from $60M at its Series A in May 2020 to $500M in August 2021, across 2 priced rounds.
Knowde valuation by funding round
| Date | Stage | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 2021 | Series B | $500M |
| May 2020 | Series A | $60M |
Knowde Funding History
Knowde has raised a total of $223M across 6 funding rounds.
Knowde's first fundraising round was a $1M pre-seed round in September 2017. The most recent completed round was a $60M Series C in August 2024.
Knowde funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Valuation | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 2024 | Series C | Point72 Ventures; Sequoia Capital; Blue Cloud Ventures | $60M | - | Knowde is a San Jose-based B2B digital marketplace and software platform specializing in chemicals and polymers. The company operates a centralized marketplace featuring over 8,000 chemical suppliers and serves major brands including Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, and Procter & Gamble. Knowde's core technology includes a Master Data Management (MDM) platform and AI-powered applications that automate data organization and enrichment for chemical manufacturers and distributors, enabling them to digitize complex product data and modernize commerce transactions. The platform helps organize vast amounts of disparate industry data—including product data, regulatory data, compliance data, customer data, and raw material data—which the CEO noted is essential for the industry's digital initiatives. In August 2024, Knowde closed a Series C funding round of $60 million led by Blue Cloud Ventures, Point72 Private Investments, and Socium Ventures, with participation from existing investor Sequoia Capital. This round brought Knowde's total venture funding to $175 million. The company announced plans to use the funding to expand its MDM platform with additional data types, develop new vertical applications, and invest in customer experience initiatives. The round valued the company at more than 20 times its annual recurring revenue, though the explicit valuation figure was not disclosed publicly. This represented a down round compared to the company's $500 million valuation in its prior Series B funding (August 2021, which raised $72 million). According to CEO Ali Amin-Javaheri, Knowde had approximately five years of cash runway at its current burn rate following the Series C close, with potential for profitability before that timeline. The company operates in the $5 trillion chemical and ingredient industry, which influences over 25 percent of global GDP. |
| Aug 2022 | Series B | Hedonova; Alumni Ventures | $72M | - | Knowde is a B2B marketplace platform connecting R&D professionals and buyers in the chemicals and ingredients industry, offering digital storefronts, marketing engagement/analytics, and selling tools for suppliers. It had 10K users in June 2021, growing 50% by 2022, with 290K monthly product searches and 1.2K quotes received by December 2023. The platform saw 70% growth in active suppliers and 90% rise in online transactions in 2022, employing 118 staff across five countries by July 2023 and claiming to be the largest marketplace of its kind. Knowde raised approximately $91 million total funding by December 2023, including a $72 million Series B led by Coatue in August 2021. In August 2022, it extended its Series B by an undisclosed amount from Alumni Ventures and Hedonova, with other investors like Sequoia, Refactor, Bee Partners, and Cantos Ventures. The platform plans potential expansions like B2B lending for suppliers to deepen relationships and add revenue, such as invoice factoring. |
| Aug 2021 | Series B | Coatue (lead); K5 Global; Sound Ventures; The Chainsmokers; Refactor; Alumni Ventures; Bee Partners; Sequoia Capital; Cantos; MANTIS Venture Capital; TQ Ventures | $72M | $500M | Knowde is a digital marketplace for ingredients, polymers, chemicals, and related products, enabling buyers to search, compare, sample, quote, and purchase from producers worldwide while helping suppliers expand reach and reduce sales costs. Launched in 2017 initially for personal care, it expanded to cover major verticals including food and nutrition by 2021, boasting thousands of supplier storefronts—more than any competitor at the time. The Series B round on August 5, 2021, raised $72 million led by Coatue, with participation from existing investors Sequoia Capital, Refactor Capital, Bee Partners, and Cantos Ventures, plus new backers Sound Ventures (Ashton Kutcher and Guy Oseary), TQ Ventures (Schuster Tanger, Andrew Marks, Scooter Braun), K5 Global, and Mantis VC with The Chainsmokers. Funds were allocated to product development for buyer/supplier features, e-commerce enhancements, and international expansion. This round valued Knowde at $500 million post-money, as referenced in later reports on its Series C. Knowde later raised a $60 million Series C at a lower valuation (over 20x ARR) with new investors Blue Cloud Ventures and Point72 Private Investments alongside Sequoia, bringing total funding over $150 million by late 2024, and grew to over 8,000 suppliers serving brands like Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, and P&G. |
| May 2020 | Series A | Sequoia Capital (lead); Refactor; Bee Partners; Cantos; Knollwood Investment Advisory | $14M | $60M | Knowde is an online marketplace connecting chemical, ingredient, and polymer producers with buyers worldwide, enabling digital storefronts for over 100,000 products. The company raised $14 million in its Series A funding round on May 1, 2020, led by Sequoia Capital with participation from Bee Partners, Cantos Ventures, Knollwood Investment Advisory, and Refactor Capital. This round valued Knowde at a post-money valuation of $59.9 million. At the time, Knowde had partnered with major suppliers like DuPont, DSM, Braskem, and Sasol, and served hundreds of producers selling to manufacturers in cosmetics, skincare, and other sectors. |
| Dec 2018 | Seed | Refactor (lead); Bee Partners; Cantos | $4M | - | - |
| Sep 2017 | Pre-seed | Bee Partners (lead); 8VC; FJ Labs; Refactor; Cantos | $1M | - | - |
Who has invested in Knowde?
17 investors have backed Knowde across its funding rounds, including Bee Partners, Cantos, Refactor, Sequoia Capital, Alumni Ventures and FJ Labs.
Lead investors include Coatue, Sequoia Capital, Refactor and Bee Partners.
Knowde Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Lead | Sep 2017 | ||
| 4 | Lead | Sep 2017 | ||
| 4 | Participant | Sep 2017 | ||
| 3 | Lead | May 2020 | ||
| 2 | Participant | Aug 2021 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Aug 2021 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Aug 2021 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Aug 2022 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Aug 2024 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Sep 2017 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Sep 2017 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Aug 2021 | ||
| 1 | Lead | Aug 2021 | ||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all 17 Knowde investors. Start Free Trial | ||||
Benchmark 350K+ Funding Rounds and Disclosed VC Valuation Multiples
Sign up to see data on 350K+ funding rounds and disclosed revenue and EBITDA valuation multiples, from seed, through growth stage, to pre-IPO.
Start Free TrialKnowde Competitors
Knowde competitors include listed companies like Daiichi Co and Beijing United, and private ones like Huimin, DeHaat, SIRCLO and LeafLink.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private | - | - | $506M | - | ||
| Private | - | - | $700M | - | ||
| Private | - | - | $343M | - | ||
| Private | $6M | - | $760M | 126.7x | ||
| Publicly listed | $380M | $15M | $124M | 0.2x | ||
| Publicly listed | $7.6B | $373M | $2.2B | 0.2x |
Knowde Public Comps
Knowde is still privately-owned, but its public comps include Lily & Beauty, Dingdong (Cayman), HelloFresh, Haypp Group, ZKH Group, THG, Betterware de Mexico, Cars.com, Oisix and BHG Group.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $252M | ($12M) | 1.3x | - | (27.8x) | - | |||
| $3.6B | $34M | 0.1x | 0.1x | 7.3x | - | |||
| $7.8B | $246M | 0.0x | 0.0x | 1.5x | 0.8x | |||
| $393M | $19M | 1.2x | 1.0x | 25.0x | 21.7x | |||
| $1.3B | ($19M) | 0.2x | 0.2x | (13.6x) | 33.7x | |||
| $2.3B | $133M | 0.5x | 0.5x | 9.2x | 9.7x | |||
| $829M | $152M | 1.2x | 1.1x | 6.6x | 5.4x | |||
| $723M | $157M | 1.4x | 1.4x | 6.5x | 4.8x | |||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all Knowde competitors and their valuation data. Start Free Trial | ||||||||
Common questions about Knowde
| When was Knowde founded? | Knowde was founded in 2017. |
| Where is Knowde headquartered? | Knowde is headquartered in San Jose, CA, United States. |
| Is Knowde publicly listed? | No, Knowde is a private, VC-backed company. |
| What is Knowde's valuation? | Knowde was last valued at $500M in its Series B in August 2021. |
| How much funding has Knowde raised? | Knowde has raised $223M across 6 funding rounds. |
| What was Knowde's last funding round? | Knowde's last funding round was a $60M Series C in August 2024. |
| Who are Knowde's investors? | Knowde's investors include Refactor, Bee Partners, Cantos, Sequoia Capital, Alumni Ventures, K5 Global, Sound Ventures, Hedonova, Point72 Ventures, 8VC and 7 others. |
| Which companies are comparable to Knowde? | Companies comparable to Knowde include Huimin, DeHaat, SIRCLO, LeafLink, Daiichi Co and Beijing United. |
See companies similar to Knowde
Start Your
Free Trial Today
Try Multiples for free for 3 days. Got questions or need a demo? Schedule a call with us below.




