Cloud9 Technologies, a New York-based financial communications provider, has raised $14m in a new funding round led by UK investment bank Barclays to help it digitize trader voice communication.

cloud9-investment

Image: Barclays led a $14m investment round in Cloud9 Technologies. Photo: courtesy of Cloud9 Technologies.

The Series B investment round also saw the participation of JPMorgan and NEX Group. Proceeds from it will be utilized to speed up development and global launch of Cloud9 Technologies’ SaaS-based voice communications platform.

According to the company, its trader voice cloud-based communications platform is a unified, digital trading solution that targets the voice trading community.

Cloud9 Technologies claims that the platform is critical for next-generation trader workflow integration, surveillance, and compliance.

Cloud9 Technologies CEO Gerald Starr said: “Despite being a cornerstone of global financial markets, voice trading and its data have been siloed off from the intelligence that fuel capital markets strategies.

“With the financial and strategic commitment of industry leaders such as Barclays, JPMorgan and NEX Group, we’re equipped to rapidly grow our role as the new standard for voice trading communications world-wide – ushering in an era in which voice is viewed as a key business asset.”

Apart from its investment, Barclays will work with Cloud9 Technologies on the acceleration of its adoption across the industry.

Earlier, JPMorgan had agreed to bring about more than 2,000 internal traders and salespeople on to the voice communications platform, using it as a main tool for voice communication between the bank and its clients across the world.

By implementing a cloud-based voice trading solution, an interoperable community can be created that has the capability to integrate with various third-party applications and analytics providers, said Cloud9 Technologies.

Founded in 2014, Cloud9 Technologies raised a $30m capital investment from JPMorgan Chase, Barclays, NEX Group, Point72 Ventures and other firms.

Barclays US strategic investments head Kester Keating said: “For the last few years, Cloud9 has proven its commitment to fostering long-overdue innovation in the trader voice space.

“We were an early investor and believer in Cloud9, and we’re proud to support its continued growth and excited by the possibilities its technology can create.”