This follows on from a $28 million series B funding round led by Battery Ventures and supported by the companies FirstMark, Serena Capital and Alven. This level of investment is reflective of an increased demand by firms, across a broad range of industries, to maximize their in-house data production and analysis. The Dataiku platform allows data scientists, programmers, and analysts to collaborate more effectively both within and across organizations.
Many businesses are investing in data science. With the rise of big data and improved methods for data collection, data science adds a new dimension. Data science is not about creating or having yet more data; instead it is about leveraging the information that has been collected and using analytics to use this data in more effective ways. The process is multifaceted and it includes technology, mathematics, and human insight.
Part of the challenge of using data science effectively is the constructing of an in-house data science teams, or using trusted outside providers, and embracing the data-driven transformation concept. The other part of the implementation is with selecting the right tools to enable effective data science reviews to happen. This is where companies like Dataiku come in. Dataiku was founded in 2014, and it offers collaborative data science systems to global companies. Companies using the technology include L’Oreal, NPR, AXA, and Kuka.
In these types of businesses, data scientists are using data to find and interpret rich data sources. This includes the managing of large amounts of data; merging data sources; ensuring consistency of datasets; creating visualizations to help interpret data; building mathematical models; and communicating out data insights.
Commenting on this, Neeraj Agrawal, general partner at Battery Ventures said data science has “become mission-critical to all types of businesses. The problem is that there are still a limited number of people with true technical, data science capabilities.” Battery Ventures, established in 1983, invests in software and services, Web infrastructure, consumer Internet, mobile and industrial technologies.
With the Dataiku software, the dataset is the core object that is manipulated via the Data Science Studio. A dataset is a series of records with the same schema. It is analogous to a Structured Query Language table. As part of the expansion, Dataiku will hire 100 new team members and accelerate the development of new features and integrations within their platform. The company aims to further drive through changes as it positions itself as a disruptive force in data analytics.
