Data analytics firm raises $108m

data analytics consulting company, says it has raised $108 million from venture capitalists, marking one of the largest investments in the fast-growing analytics business, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Mu Sigma helps some of the world's biggest corporations make sense of the vast volumes of data being produced online.

The company, which is headquartered in Chicago with most of its analysts in Bangalore, employs about 1 500 people, up from about 1 200 in June.

Mu Sigma, which was founded in 2004, undertakes large-scale and complex data analytics on behalf of clients such as Microsoft and Dell, Chicago Tribune writes.

Put simply, analytics helps a business understand “why something happens, what will happen, so what and now what?”, says Dhiraj Rajaram, Mu Sigma's founder and CEO.

Analytics underpin marketing, supply chain and risk management decisions in industries such as insurance, pharmaceuticals, retail and financial services.