Fresh off $40 million, Franklin tech company moves to bigger digs

May 18, 2016

Nashville Business Journal
by Eleanor Kennedy

With a $40 million funding round in its coffers, Franklin-based Digital Reasoning has moved into a new headquarters space in Cool Springs.

The company, whose technology helps clients in the financial services, health care and intelligence industries process and analyze large amounts of unstructured data, has taken over the fifth floor of publicly traded wellness company Healthways’ headquarters.

At 50,000 square feet, the space is a big jump from Digital Reasoning’s former 15,000-square foot home in another Cool Springs office building, which had been spread across three separate sections.

The move is the latest in a series of aggressive growth moves by the company, founded in 2000. In late 2014, it raised $24 million in a round led by big-name financial players Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse. Late last year, Nashville hospital giant HCA Holdings, Inc., added its name to the company’s investor list as Digital Reasoning began rolling out its health care segment, which the company subsequently strengthened with its acquisition of Nashville health-tech firm Shareable earlier this year. Finally, earlier this month the company closed its $40 million Series D round, led by Minnesota-based Lemhi Ventures and including the big-name investors listed above, among others.

Now employing about 70 people locally and around 160 total, Michelle Hytry, director of talent acquisition, said the company expects to hit the 200-employee mark by year-end. About half that growth (about 20 employees) will come at the Franklin office, where the company is in need of data scientists, software developers, engineers and other similar tech workers.

“We need a little room to grow,” Digital Reasoning CEO Tim Estes said of the move.

For now the company is only using about half of its 50,000-square-space. The company is investing $861,500 as part of its move and expansion and plans to create 189 jobs in Williamson County over the next five years, according to a release from the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development.

Digital Reasoning is receiving incentives to support its expansion, though the specifics of the package were not included in the announcement.

“TVA and Middle Tennessee [Electric Membership Corporation] congratulate Digital Reasoning on its decision to expand and create additional job opportunities in Williamson County,” TVA Senior Vice President of Economic Development John Bradley said in the release. “We are privileged to work with our partners at Williamson Inc., Williamson County and city of Franklin, and Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development to facilitate the growth of existing companies.”