Finding information is easier than ever, but sometimes what you really need is someone who can explain what it all means.
Today, NYC-based tech firm NewtonX announced a Series A funding round to the tune of $12 million to help companies where traditional search engines fall short. The funds bring NewtonX’s funding total to $15 million after just three years in business.
Since CEO Germain Chastel, COO Sascha Eder and CTO Anuja Ketan founded the company in 2016, NewtonX has made a splash across the business world with a first-of-its-kind search engine platform designed specifically to help business leaders connect with top experts in a range of fields.
This isn’t your average Google search: NewtonX’s platform uses artificial intelligence to analyze a company’s specific needs before pairing them with people like CEOs, researchers and professional consultants who can help them get the information they need — even with same-day deadlines.
We have created a search engine that can identify the specific expertise of virtually every professional.”
“Currently, the corporate decision-making model is broken,” CEO Chastel explained to Built In. “Executives increasingly need specialized knowledge for critical decision-making, but are forced to rely on a closed pool of experts to make their decisions.
He continued: “Instead of relying on a limited pool of experts, we have created a search engine that can identify the specific expertise of virtually every professional and hence provide our clients with access to the top experts in specific fields in a matter of hours.”
Two Sigma Ventures led the Series A funding, with Third Prime Capital and Xfund also participating. NewtonX plans to use the funds to triple its current headcount. Currently, the company’s Madison Avenue office is home to 30 employees; within the next year, the company expects that number to increase to 100.
“Since we are still in the early phase of building something new, our main source of value comes from the intelligence and creativity of our people and we need to make sure we can attract and retain the right talent,” Chastel said, adding that the company’s current operating costs are 95 percent employee salaries.
Our main source of value comes from the intelligence and creativity of our people and we need to make sure we can attract and retain the right talent.”
Though NewtonX will grow significantly in the coming months, Chastel said the company is still maintaining a sharp eye on culture: “Everyone at NewtonX has this tenacity and work ethic in some form or another, and we’ve put a lot of time and thought into how to also test for these qualities during the recruiting process.”
To date, NewtonX has made a point of maintaining gender equity in its recruiting. The company boasts a team comprised of more than 50 percent women — a balance reflected in its leadership team as well.
NewtonX will use a portion of the Series A round to increase its product capabilities, both through internal developments as well as strategic data acquisition.
In a statement on the funding, Two Sigma Ventures Partner Dan Abelon explained what sets NewtonX’s technology apart, saying: “They’re attempting to create a paradigm shift in the B2B expertise market. Incumbent market research firms, consulting firms and expert networks used to rely on pre-existing pools of expert consultants,” he explained.
“We believe NewtonX is turning this model on its head by automating custom searches to recruit the best experts in real time for any given client request and, in doing so, is capable of transforming multiple industries.”
