Apache Flink Startup Immerok Announces $17M in Seed Funding

NEW YORK, Oct. 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Immerok, developers of a serverless Apache Flink cloud platform for real-time stream processing, today announced it has closed on a $17 million seed funding round led by Cusp Capital, 468 Capital, Cortical Ventures, and  Essence VC along with participation from several angel investors, including Apache Flink co-creator, Stephan Ewen.

Cofounded by a group of Apache Flink experts including many Committers and PMC members, Immerok is on a mission to help companies benefit from real-time data by providing developers with the best platform for building, running & supporting Flink-based stream processing applications in the cloud without requiring costly infrastructure expertise.

"Businesses today differentiate themselves by data, so the most strategic IT initiatives right now center around data-intensive applications to support AI/ML models as well as realtime and predictive analytics," said Holger Temme, Co-founder and CEO of Immerok. "Stream processing, and with it Apache Flink, are fundamental to those systems, and until now, organizations have required specialists to build, operate, and scale those streaming applications—specialists that are expensive, and scarce. Immerok will make it easy for organizations to build modern real-time systems by closing the existing gap between stream processing and cloud native applications." 

Apache Flink is an open source stream processing engine that already powers many of the world's largest real-time ecommerce, entertainment, and financial services systems. The Immerok service will make it possible for anyone to leverage the full power of Flink to meet a range of real-time business needs from fast data pipelines and user-facing analytics, to real-time ML/AI and transaction processing.

"ING has been one of the early adopters of Apache Flink," said Erik de Nooij, Engineering Lead at ING. "Starting with a POC in 2016 which evolved to a global platform that has become the de facto standard for streaming applications within ING. The next step in this evolution is to adopt a SQL-first approach and a tighter integration with the data lake where machine learning models are being trained. This next step will put ING on a trajectory where analytic capabilities are put in the hands of a wider target audience resulting in more data-driven decisions."

The company will use the funds to continue to build and launch its fully-managed cloud service for Apache Flink that is now available to Early Access Program users on AWS. Immerok plans to expand support to other cloud platforms in the future. The company will also use funding to grow its team. Immerok has 20 employees with plans to grow to 30 by year's end and is hiring for roles in engineering, community relations, and customer success. Current openings are available on the Immerok Careers page.

"The future of Apache Flink is in good hands with Immerok," said Stephan Ewen, co-creator of Apache Flink. "I spent many years working with the Immerok co-founders. They have deep knowledge of stream processing and cloud-native computing, they build really solid technology, and love working with the community of Flink users. I'm excited to be working with them as an advisor."

"Using AI to create new real-time customer experiences and increase operational efficiency is at the top of nearly every business leader's technology agenda today," said Jan Sessenhausen, General Partner at Cusp Capital. "In order to achieve this, companies require the power to cost-effectively process massive amounts of data in real time, nonstop. Immerok has the vision, the team, and the technology to make this a reality for organizations of all types and sizes, and we are thrilled to partner with them on their journey."

"Demand for streaming analytics applications is booming," said Florian Leibert with 468 Capital. "We are excited to be working with Immerok and are confident that they are the right team to bring real-time computing into the mainstream to help businesses revolutionize the way they operate."

For more information and to sign up for updates visit: www.immerok.io. Immerok is actively hiring; to see current openings and apply for them on line, visit the Immerok Careers page.

Many of the largest businesses in the world—Amazon, Apple, Goldman Sachs, and others rely on Apache Flink® to process streaming data that drives action in real-time. Immerok is a leading contributor to Apache Flink® and develops a serverless Apache Flink cloud platform that enables developers to leverage the full power of Apache Flink and put it into production without requiring costly operational expertise. Founded in 2022, the Immerok team is distributed across the US and EU and is backed by leading investors and IT industry executives.

Cusp Capital is a venture capital firm combining research enthusiasm with investment experience to identify European companies which use the power of digital technologies to redefine aspects of our personal and professional lives. Investing throughout their growth cycles, we support our portfolio companies in evolving their strategic narratives as well as the organizational foundations underneath.

468 Capital is a Berlin and San Francisco based technology investment firm. We support leading software, AI and internet growth companies across multiple investment stages. Our approach consists of making thesis-driven and high-conviction investments in businesses led by exceptional founders. The firm is led by general partners who are former founders and leaders of ecosystem defining technology companies and benefits from long-established networks

Cortical Ventures is an AI-focused venture capital firm focused on helping entrepreneurs building the next generation AI Companies. The firm was launched by Jeremy Achin (founder and former CEO of DataRobot) and Igor Taber (former Managing Director at Intel Capital, early investor and  SVP of Corporate Development at DataRobot). Cortical Ventures' mission is to invent, incubate and invest in the companies leading the AI revolution. The firm is backed by leading institutional investors and VC firms, AI luminaries and top founders and operators in the industry.

Essence VC is a venture capital firm started by developers investing in developer or data-focused infrastructure products. We leverage our own experience being a key part of several open source foundations and communities, founder experience and VC network to help technical founders navigate early story / product exploration and team building. Essence VC also creates and fosters content (OSS Startup Podcast) and community (YAIG.dev) specific to the infra vertical that helps founders on distribution.

David Templeton
DBT Communications
[email protected]

SOURCE Immerok