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

Knowde Overview

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

United StatesSan Jose, CA

Website

knowde.com

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

Knowde valuation by funding round
DateStageValuation
Aug 2021Series B$500M
May 2020Series 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

Knowde funding rounds
DateStageInvestorsRaisedValuationDeal Summary
Aug 2024Series CPoint72 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 2022Series BHedonova; 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 2021Series BCoatue (lead); K5 Global; Sound Ventures; The Chainsmokers; Refactor; Alumni Ventures; Bee Partners; Sequoia Capital; Cantos; MANTIS Venture Capital; TQ Ventures$72M$500MKnowde 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 2020Series ASequoia Capital (lead); Refactor; Bee Partners; Cantos; Knollwood Investment Advisory$14M$60MKnowde 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 2018SeedRefactor (lead); Bee Partners; Cantos$4M--
Sep 2017Pre-seedBee 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

Investors in Knowde by funding rounds participated
InvestorHQRoundsRoleFirst check
RefactorUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA4LeadSep 2017
Bee PartnersUnited StatesUnited States4LeadSep 2017
CantosUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA4ParticipantSep 2017
Sequoia CapitalUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA3LeadMay 2020
Alumni VenturesUnited StatesUnited States2ParticipantAug 2021
K5 GlobalUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA1ParticipantAug 2021
Sound VenturesUnited StatesLos Angeles, CA1ParticipantAug 2021
HedonovaUnited StatesLos Angeles, CA1ParticipantAug 2022
Point72 VenturesUnited StatesNew York City, NY1ParticipantAug 2024
8VCUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA1ParticipantSep 2017
FJ LabsUnited StatesNew York City, NY1ParticipantSep 2017
The ChainsmokersUnited StatesNew York City, NY1ParticipantAug 2021
CoatueUnited StatesNew York City, NY1LeadAug 2021

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Knowde Competitors

Knowde competitors include listed companies like Daiichi Co and Beijing United, and private ones like Huimin, DeHaat, SIRCLO and LeafLink.

Public and private companies comparable to Knowde
CompanyHQStatusRevenueEBITDAValuationRevenue Multiple
HuiminChinaChinaPrivate--$506M-
DeHaatIndiaPatnaPrivate--$700M-
SIRCLOIndonesiaJakartaPrivate--$343M-
LeafLinkUnited StatesNew York City, NYPrivate$6M-$760M126.7x
Daiichi CoJapanJapanPublicly listed$380M$15M$124M0.2x
Beijing UnitedChinaChinaPublicly listed$7.6B$373M$2.2B0.2x

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 FYEV/RevenueEV/EBITDA
RevenueEBITDALast FYLTM2027ELast FYLTM2027E
Lily & Beauty$252M($12M)1.3x-(27.8x)-
Dingdong (Cayman)$3.6B$34M0.1x0.1x7.3x-
HelloFresh$7.8B$246M0.0x0.0x1.5x0.8x
Haypp Group$393M$19M1.2x1.0x25.0x21.7x
ZKH Group$1.3B($19M)0.2x0.2x(13.6x)33.7x
THG$2.3B$133M0.5x0.5x9.2x9.7x
Betterware de Mexico$829M$152M1.2x1.1x6.6x5.4x
Cars.com$723M$157M1.4x1.4x6.5x4.8x

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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.

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