6Sense, a predictive intelligence engine set to transform sales and marketing for B2B companies, today emerged from stealth and announced the availability of its solution that uses proprietary machine-learning algorithms and behavioral data to help companies identify potential customers and predict sales. The company has also announced $12 million in Series A financing led by Battery Ventures and Venrock, with participation from Silicon Valley Bank. Roger Lee, general partner at Battery Ventures, and Brian Ascher, partner with Venrock, have joined 6Sense's board.

While other providers focus on scoring only known contacts at the bottom of the funnel, 6Sense takes a complete-picture approach to the business-to-business (B2B) buyer's journey by helping customers identify net-new prospects at the top of the funnel that are unknown to sales and marketing. The technology works by parsing internal data from customers and linking that data to external behavioral indicators of customer interest. 6Sense then uses the data to build custom models to predict where customers are in the buying cycle and what products they might buy and when, allowing its customers to accelerate sales and optimize marketing.

'We are moving into a new and exciting era for software, where data-driven and intelligent solutions are replacing the traditional 'dumb' workflow software that businesses have typically relied on,' said Amanda Kahlow, founder and CEO of 6Sense. 'Today, organizations need to invest in solutions that make data central to driving their business forward. We aren't simply giving our customers a tool for incremental results; we are measurably growing their businesses with insights that will drive sales and, ultimately, their bottom line.'

6Sense has been operating in stealth for the past year, and it already has a number of enterprise customers including NetApp, Cisco, CBS Interactive, Xactly, Blue Jeans, Pure Storage, and CSC. The financing will enable the company to continue to develop the product and increase marketing.

'Big data is upending almost every industry, and 6Sense is offering customers extremely insightful data very early in the sales cycle, when it's potentially the most valuable,' said Roger Lee, general partner, Battery Ventures. 'This makes companies using that data smarter, and could allow 6Sense to insert itself as a valuable new player in the sales funnel. We are thrilled to be partnering with the company.'

'6Sense is poised to assert itself as the leader of a new breed of software company -- one that combines data science expertise with deep understanding of business problems,' said Brian Ascher, partner, Venrock. 'Today, organizations who allow their data to influence their strategic direction will come out ahead of the competition. 6Sense enables this competitive advantage.'

6Sense grew out of a major big-data consulting project Kahlow began inside Cisco four years ago, when she was running a well-established enterprise-services company. 6Sense co-founder, Viral Bajaria, who previously worked at Hulu as an engineer and was an early adopter of Hadoop, has also been instrumental in leading the build of 6Sense's technology.

6Sense customers currently use the predictions in all downstream sales and marketing systems, including ad retargeting, personalization, marketing automation, and CRM. Using 6Sense technology, customers can predict when accounts are about to make a purchase with 80+ percent accuracy. Customers have also reported a 10x increase in campaign conversion rates.

About 6Sense
6Sense is a B2B predictive intelligence engine for sales and marketing. 6Sense takes a complete picture approach to the B2B buyer's journey. 6Sense accelerates sales by finding buyers at every stage of the funnel. Using time-sensitive behavioral data, 6Sense offers insightful predictions to uncover net-new companies and contacts at the top of the funnel, when it is the most valuable; and prioritizes known prospects ready to buy now. 6Sense predicts what products prospects will buy, how much they will buy, and when. Customers include NetApp, Cisco, CBS Interactive, Xactly, Blue Jeans, Pure Storage, and CSC. 6Sense is backed by Battery Ventures and Venrock and is based in San Francisco. http://www.6sense.com