Predictive Intelligence Platform 6sense Raises $20m

San Francisco-based predictive intelligence firm 6Sense has raised $20m in a Series B round of funding, adding to the $12m investment the company received when it launched out of stealth mode last May.

6sense, which was set up by Amanda Kahlow (pictured with her dog Calvin), Dustin Chang, Viral Bajaria, Premal Shah and Shane Moriah, uses proprietary machine learning algorithms and behavioral data to help clients identify potential B2B customers and predict sales. The technology works by parsing internal data from customers and linking it to external behavioral indicators of customer interest, with results used to build custom models predicting where customers are in the buying cycle, what products they might buy and when.

Kahlow comments: 'Unlike simple predictive lead scoring tools that wait for a lead to come in, 6sense proactively identifies new buyers early in the buyer's journey - so our customers can get ahead of their competition and hyper-target their sales and marketing efforts to accelerate growth.'

This latest funding round was led by new investor Bain Capital Ventures, with participation from early investors Battery Ventures and Venrock, and brings the total raised to date to $36m. The investment will be used to expand the firm's Development and Data Science team, for marketing and sales purposes, and to move into new vertical markets.

Web site: www.6sense.com .