Materialize, the startup developing a SQL streaming database based on the open-source Timely Dataflow project, has announced a $32 million Series B funding round. This investment was spearheaded by Kleiner Perkins, with additional participation from Lightspeed Ventures.

In related news, the company also revealed a prior $8 million Series A funding round from the previous year, also led by Lightspeed Ventures. This brings the total amount of funding raised by Materialize to $40 million.

Investors have expressed confidence in the company’s leadership, which includes CEO Arjun Narayan, previously with Cockroach Labs, and chief scientist Frank McSherry, the original creator of the Timely Dataflow project that forms the foundation of Materialize.

Narayan believes that real-time data processing is becoming essential for all organizations, and a streaming database is the key to achieving this. He emphasizes that the company’s use of SQL is intentional, as it’s a widely known language, allowing customers to quickly utilize their data without needing to learn a new query system.

“Our primary aim is to empower businesses to understand and leverage streaming data to create intelligent applications, all without requiring specialized expertise. This means providing tools and technologies that are already familiar, such as standard SQL,” Narayan stated.

Bucky Moore, a partner at Kleiner Perkins leading the Series B investment, highlighted the importance of the technology’s standard querying capabilities. “As businesses increasingly rely on streaming data for decision-making, the ability to easily query that data is crucial. Materialize’s unique ability to offer SQL access to streaming data addresses this challenge, positioning them to become a leading data platform,” he explained.

Comparisons to Confluent, another streaming database built on the Apache Kafka project, are inevitable. However, Narayan points out that Materialize utilizes standard SQL for querying, whereas Confluent employs its own specialized language.

The company is currently refining its commercial offerings and provides a standard service package to paying customers, including support and a service level agreement (SLA). A Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) version of the product is under development and is anticipated to launch next year.

Materialize currently employs 20 individuals and intends to expand its team to 40 by the end of the following year as product development continues. Narayan also noted the company’s commitment to building a diverse workforce as it grows.

He acknowledged the challenges of hiring during the pandemic and expressed hope for improvements in 2021. He and his co-founders are focusing on broadening the initial stages of the recruitment process to avoid relying solely on existing networks, which can limit diversity.

“We are focused on key performance indicators and metrics to ensure we are actively working to diversify our hiring pipeline and maintain that effort throughout the entire process. This is, I believe, the most effective way to build a diverse team, and it applies to all companies,” he said.

While currently operating with a remote workforce, the company envisions establishing multiple offices, including a headquarters in New York City, once the pandemic subsides. A hybrid model is expected, with some employees continuing to work remotely and others utilizing the office spaces.