Verizon has joined existing investors including Alphabet and Nvidia to help the graphic-powered data technology spinout of MIT close its series A round.

US-based data analytics and visualisation software developer MapD Technologies has completed a $10m series A round featuring graphics processing unit (GPU) producer Nvidia, telecommunications company Verizon and internet technology firm Alphabet.

The round was led by venture capital firm Vanedge Capital, while Alphabet and Verizon respectively took part through their GV and Verizon Ventures subsidiaries.

Founded in 2013, MapD has built a database and visual analytics platform powered by GPUs that lets data analysts rapidly and interatcively explore big datasets. The technology is based on research conducted by founder Todd Mostak at university MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, where MapD was incubated.  

MapD initially raised $7.8m for the round in August 2015, after securing $1.5m in late 2014 from GV, then called Google Ventures, Nvidia, Vanedge Capital and various angel investors. It had won Nvidia’s $100,000 Emerging Companies contest earlier in the year.

Rich Miner, general partner at GV, said: “We have been working with MapD since they spun out of MIT, and have been impressed with the performance of the team and evolution of the product. The breadth of problems that can be addressed and visualised with their blindingly fast GPU-based data engine are limitless.”

– This article first appeared on our sister site Global Corporate Venturing.