y42 Secures $2.9 Million Seed Funding to Simplify Data Access

Berlin-based y42, previously known as Datos Intelligence, has announced a $2.9 million seed funding round. This business intelligence service, centered around data warehousing, aims to provide businesses with an enterprise-level data stack that is as intuitive as a spreadsheet. The funding round was spearheaded by La Famiglia VC.

Expanding Investor Network

In addition to La Famiglia VC, the investment round included contributions from the co-founders of prominent companies such as Foodspring, Personio, and Petlab. This diverse group of investors signals strong confidence in y42’s potential.

Comprehensive Data Integration

Founded in 2020, y42 currently integrates with over 100 different data sources. This encompasses a wide range of popular B2B SaaS tools, including Airtable, Shopify, and Zendesk. It also supports database services like Google’s BigQuery.

Data Transformation and Automation

Users of the platform are able to transform and visualize their integrated data. Furthermore, they can orchestrate data pipelines and establish automated workflows. These workflows can be triggered by data events, such as sending Slack notifications when revenue declines or initiating email campaigns based on customized criteria.

Operationalizing the Data Warehouse

y42 builds upon the concept of the data warehouse, traditionally used for analytical purposes, and extends its functionality to enable businesses to operationalize their data. The service leverages a significant amount of open-source software.

Commitment to Open Source

The company actively contributes to projects like GitLab’s Meltano platform, which is designed for building data pipelines. This demonstrates y42’s dedication to the open-source community.

Focus on User Experience

“Our goal is to develop a tool that is easily understood and empowers everyone to work effectively with their data,” stated Hung Dang, founder and CEO of y42. “We prioritize user experience and aim to be a no-code/low-code BI tool, offering enterprise-level power with the simplicity of Google Sheets.”

Founder’s Background and Vision

Prior to y42, Hung Dang, originally from Vietnam, established a successful events company operating across more than ten countries. He simultaneously completed his studies with a focus on business analytics and subsequently founded a B2B data analytics firm.

Driven by Data-Driven Insights

Even during the operation of his events company, Dang consistently employed a product- and data-driven approach. He implemented data pipelines to gather customer feedback and integrate it with operational data, recognizing the challenges of existing tools like Tableau and Alteryx.

From Internal Tool to Startup

The frustrations encountered while using complex and expensive tools led to the development of an internal solution. In 2016, Dang decided to transform this internal tool into a fully-fledged company.

Strategic Exit and New Venture

He later sold this initial company to a major, publicly traded German corporation. While details of the transaction remain confidential due to an NDA, his prior experience at Eventim provides some context for his current venture.

Empowering Data Professionals

y42 is designed to streamline workflows for both data engineers and business analysts. The company typically provides initial consulting to new clients to facilitate onboarding. The platform’s no-code/low-code nature allows analysts to quickly become proficient.

Flexible Query Options

For more intricate analyses, users can transition from the graphical interface to y42’s low-code environment and write queries using the service’s SQL dialect.

Scalable Infrastructure and Growing Client Base

The service operates on Google Cloud and currently manages approximately 50,000 jobs daily for its clients. Notable customers include LifeMD, Petlab, and Everdrop.

Strategic Funding Decision

Until this funding round, Dang had self-funded the company and secured some angel investment. La Famiglia VC was chosen as the lead investor due to their focus on connecting startups with established enterprise organizations.

Investor Perspective

“The y42 platform impressed us with its analytical excellence and the significant investment in product development,” commented Judith Dada, general partner at LaFamiglia VC. “Data silos are a growing problem, and y42 provides a powerful single source of truth for both data experts and those without specialized data skills. We wish we had this capability in the past.”

Future Growth Plans

Dang indicated that he intentionally kept the funding round relatively small to avoid excessive dilution of the team’s equity. He anticipates a significantly larger Series A round later this year, potentially ten times the current amount.