Dust raises $40 million in Series B funding round

PARIS — Dust raised $40 million in a Series B funding round on Tuesday to expand its collaborative artificial intelligence platform. The investment round was led by venture capital firms Abstract and Sequoia. This capital injection marks a major financial milestone for the company since its founding in Paris. The firm did not disclose the total valuation of the company following this $40 million investment.

The company intends to use the $40 million to hire new engineers for its development team. Dust plans to add staff throughout the remainder of 2024 to support its enterprise software products. These hires will focus on building new features for the platform, according to the official company statement. The firm did not provide a specific headcount target for these new hires in the funding announcement.

Dust provides software that allows teams to share artificial intelligence tools across an entire organization. The platform aims to connect different workflows within a company, according to a statement released on Tuesday. The chief executive officer said, "We are thrilled to have the support of Abstract and Sequoia, as we believe that collaborative AI is the future of enterprise solutions." The company did not disclose the exact number of enterprise clients currently using the software.

Investors Abstract and Sequoia have backed numerous technology startups over the last 10 years. This latest $40 million deal represents one of the larger rounds for a Paris-based software company in the current quarter. The firm will compete with other enterprise software providers that have raised capital since January 2024. The filing did not list any other investors who participated in the Series B round.

Dust will allocate the $40 million toward increasing its market reach over the next 12 months. The company plans to release updated platform features by the end of 2024. Management did not provide a specific date for when these new tools will be available to customers. The firm remains headquartered in Paris as it begins this expansion phase with its new capital.