U.S. industry giants and technology giants GE (NYSE: GE) and Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) are among the big investors putting money into a Burnaby software developer.
Bit Stew Systems announced Tuesday (May 12) it’s closed US$17.2 million in a Series B funding round led by GE Ventures.
The latest round also includes the Business Development Bank of Canada and previous investors, Cisco Investments and Yaletown Venture Partners.
Bit Stew got its start in 2009 developing a software platform to make data integration and management easier for the utilities industry.
Its technology capitalizes on the growing interest in the Internet of Things (IoT), whereby intelligent computer systems transmit data between each other and respond accordingly in real time without the need for human interaction.
“That technology we’ve proven (in the utility industry) is applicable to other industrial markets,” Bit Stew vice-president of marketing Franco Castaldini told Business in Vancouver, adding its applicability in sectors such as oil and gas, manufacturing and telecommunications likely caught the eye of GE and Cisco.
“So we view this as a validation of our technology and are excited about the growth potential and working with those two investors.”
Bit Stew has 90 full-time employees between its Burnaby headquarters and satellite office in Mountain View, Calif.
Castaldini said most of the investment will go towards the sales and marketing side of the company but Bit Stew plans to add more than 20 engineers using the money it just raised.
The majority of the new hires, he added, would be based in B.C. and the company wants to double its workforce in the next year or two.
The funding round will also change the look of the boardroom.
GE will gain a seat next to Yaletown Venture Partners, and co-founders Kevin Collins and Alex Clark.
