Census Raises $16M Series A to Unlock Data Warehouse Value

Census Secures $16 Million Series A Funding

Census, a company specializing in customer data synchronization, has announced the successful completion of a $16 million Series A funding round. Sequoia Capital spearheaded this investment.

Investment Details and Participants

Andreessen Horowitz, who previously led the company’s $4.3 million seed round last year, also participated in this latest funding.

Notable individual investors included Dylan Field, CEO of Figma; Jason Warner, CTO of GitHub; Akshay Kothari, COO of Notion; and Parker Conrad, CEO of Rippling.

The Rise of Data Warehouse-Centric Startups

Census is at the forefront of a growing trend: startups building solutions directly on top of data warehouses. The core concept involves enabling businesses to effectively utilize the data already stored within their data warehouses.

Traditionally, data warehouses were primarily used for analytical reporting. However, companies are now recognizing the potential of leveraging this centralized data as a single source of truth, reducing the need for complex, custom integrations.

The Modern Data Stack

The company highlights that the modern data stack, centered around data warehouses such as Amazon Redshift, Google BigQuery, and Snowflake, provides a comprehensive toolkit.

This stack includes tools for data extraction and transformation – like Fivetran and dbt – and data visualization platforms, such as Looker.

Census: Bridging the Gap

Census functions as an intermediary layer between the data warehouse and various business applications. This allows companies to unlock the full value of their data.

For instance, users can seamlessly synchronize product data with marketing automation tools like Marketo or customer relationship management (CRM) systems like Salesforce.

Image Credits: Census

Census' Vision and Customer Applications

“Three years ago, we questioned the reliance on complex integrations when all necessary data resided within the warehouse,” explains Census. “We proposed leveraging data teams to drive operational processes.”

The company believes that connecting the data warehouse to the broader business unlocks significant possibilities.

Initially focused on product-led companies like Figma, Canva, and Notion, Census has expanded its applications to include automated support ticket prioritization in Zendesk, invoice automation in Netsuite, and integration with HR systems.

Current Integrations and Client Base

Census currently integrates with a wide range of services and data tools. Its customer roster includes prominent companies like Clearbit, Figma, Fivetran, LogDNA, Loom, and Notion.

Future Plans and Development

The newly acquired funding will be allocated to the development of new features, including enhanced data validation capabilities and a visual query interface.

Furthermore, Census intends to introduce code-based orchestration, enabling version control for Census workflows and facilitating integration with enterprise orchestration systems.