Black Duck raises $12m for open source

Enterprise open source software provider, Black Duck Software has raised $12 million in a round of venture capital, led by investor Split Rock Partners, Digital Media Wire reports.

Bost Innovation says the company has been cash-flow positive since 2009, and plans to use the funds to accelerate growth, advance key development projects, continue acquisitions, and expand its global presence.

The financing follows a strong year in which Black Duck posted significant growth in excess of 35% in year-over-year sales. In the third quarter of 2011 alone, the company added 69 new customers, and grew headcount to 150.

Jim Simons, MD of Split Rock Partners, says in a Market Watch report: "What drew our attention to Black Duck was their dramatic growth and the successful evolution of their business from compliance and code-scanning to a provider of enterprise-scale products and services that enable the broad adoption and governance of open source software.

"The company now leads a sector with a $1 billion market opportunity, and has a compelling vision enabling the world's development organisations to more effectively use open source to enhance productivity and innovation," he concludes.