bodo.ai Raises $14M to Enhance Python for Big Data

Bodo.ai Secures $14 Million Series A Funding for Python Parallelization

Bodo.ai, a platform focused on parallel computing for data-intensive tasks, is creating a compiler designed to enhance Python’s portability and performance across diverse hardware. The company announced on Wednesday the successful completion of a $14 million Series A funding round, spearheaded by Dell Technologies Capital.

Addressing Python's Scalability Challenges

Python is a leading programming language favored by artificial intelligence, machine learning engineers, and data scientists. However, as Bodo.ai co-founder and CEO Behzad Nasre explains, utilizing Python effectively with large datasets can present significant hurdles.

The Founding of Bodo.ai

Established in 2019 and based in San Francisco, Bodo.ai was founded by Nasre and CTO Ehsan Totoni with the goal of improving Python’s performance and making it suitable for production environments. Nasre, bringing extensive experience from Intel, connected with Totoni and learned about his work to broaden access to machine learning through parallel processing. Nasre emphasized to TechCrunch that parallelization represents the key to sustaining Moore’s Law.

Automated Parallelization for Data and ML Developers

Bodo achieves its objectives through a compiler technology that automates parallelization. This allows data and machine learning developers to avoid the need for new libraries, APIs, or rewriting Python code into other languages or GPU code to achieve scalability. Currently, the technology is being implemented in real-time data analytics tools and is finding applications across sectors including finance, telecommunications, retail, and manufacturing.

Empowering Developers with High-Performance Python

“To truly realize the potential of the AI revolution, developers must be able to write code in straightforward Python,” Totoni stated. “The inherent high-performance capabilities will unlock new possibilities.” He further noted that the current reliance on specialists for code rewriting is inefficient.

Investors and Funding Details

In addition to Dell Technologies Capital, the funding round included participation from Uncorrelated Ventures, Fusion Fund, and Candou Ventures. This latest investment brings Bodo’s total funding to $14 million. The company pursued Series A funding after demonstrating product maturity and strong customer engagement, signaling a desire for accelerated growth, according to Nasre.

Dell Technologies Capital's Strategic Investment

Nasre believes Dell Technologies Capital is ideally positioned to support Bodo, citing their extensive resources and prominent role in the enterprise sector, particularly their highly effective salesforce.

Positive Feedback and Founder Expertise

Daniel Docter, managing director at Dell Technologies, was initially introduced to Bodo through a data scientist colleague who highlighted the impressive preliminary results. He was already acquainted with Nasre.

Focus on Deep Tech and Problem Solvers

Docter explained that Dell’s investments often target early-stage companies and founders with a deep understanding of the challenges they are addressing. He categorizes Totoni and Nasre as fitting this profile.

Leveraging Industry Experience

“Ehsan possesses exceptional technical depth and specifically focused on solving this problem,” Docter added. “Behzad, with his background at Intel, directly experienced the issue, particularly witnessing the limitations of Hadoop and the rise of Spark.”

Future Plans: Expansion and Innovation

With the new funding secured, Nasre plans to triple the company’s workforce and invest heavily in research and development to further build and scale the platform. A dedicated marketing and sales team will also be established.

Shifting Focus to Customer Adoption and Revenue

The company is transitioning its focus from securing funding to prioritizing customer acquisition and revenue generation, aiming to increase adoption within the Python community.

Democratizing Machine Learning

“Our technology can transform simple code into highly optimized code, comparable to what experts would create,” Totoni explained. “I initially joined Intel Labs to tackle this problem, and we believe we’ve developed the first solution that will democratize machine learning for developers and data scientists.” He emphasized that Bodo offers a new compiler technology that makes AI more accessible, eliminating the need to hand off Python code to specialists for rewriting.