Omni Raises $69M to Revolutionize Data Analysis Tools

The Challenge of Data Analysis for Modern Businesses

Currently, many organizations expect their personnel to base decisions on thorough data analysis. However, the necessary tools are often inadequate, exhibiting sluggish performance or, in some instances, being entirely unavailable.

This assessment comes from Colin Zima, the CEO of Omni, a business intelligence (BI) platform designed to streamline data interaction for businesses. Prior to establishing Omni, Zima held leadership positions at Google, overseeing Search quality, and served as the chief analytics officer at Looker.

Bridging the Gap in Business Intelligence

Zima explained to TechCrunch that cloud data warehouses, such as Snowflake and BigQuery, are combining the dependability of established systems with the scalability of modern technologies. Despite this progress, a significant number of businesses continue to rely on outdated BI procedures.

Contemporary organizations require the flexibility of self-service analytics while maintaining centralized governance. This disparity creates a substantial market opportunity, which is the foundational reason for Omni’s creation.

Omni’s Platform Capabilities

Omni’s platform empowers users to conduct spontaneous data analyses and construct charts and reports. It also incorporates functionalities for creating data visualizations, including elements like hyperlinks, textual content, and images.

Beyond a user-friendly point-and-click interface for building data queries and dashboards, Omni provides compatibility with Excel spreadsheets and formulas. Furthermore, it can process raw SQL – the standard language for database communication – automatically parsing and converting it into “modeled concepts” accessible within the Omni interface.

Dashboards and other products developed using Omni can be integrated into other applications through available integrations, as Zima noted.

Flexibility and Accessibility in BI

“Our aim with Omni was to accommodate the diverse requirements of BI tasks,” Zima stated. “The platform is intuitive enough for quick exploration and dashboard creation, yet adaptable enough to support complex customization and sophisticated data modeling as needs evolve.”

Growth and Customer Base

Despite a competitive BI market, Omni has successfully expanded its clientele to over 200 companies, including Perplexity, BuzzFeed, Writer, and Incident.io. The company’s annual recurring revenue has nearly reached $10 million, with projections indicating a tripling of this figure within the current year.

Securing Funding for Future Development

Zima indicated that investor enthusiasm prompted Omni to seek funding earlier than initially planned. Recently, the company finalized a $69 million Series B funding round, spearheaded by ICONIQ Growth, with contributions from Theory Ventures, First Round Capital, Redpoint Ventures, GV, and Snowflake Ventures.

“We’ve observed other companies securing – and rapidly expending – substantial capital in pursuit of growth,” Zima commented. “However, that is not our approach. Developing a comprehensive BI tool is resource-intensive, as we are competing with established BI solutions spanning the last four decades. Our growth has been efficient and deliberate, enabling us to prioritize research and development.”

Strategic Use of Funds and Future Plans

The recent funding, bringing San Francisco-based Omni’s total raised to $97 million with a $650 million valuation, will facilitate continued investment in embedded analytics and spreadsheet functionalities. It will also support expansion of the product and go-to-market teams.

Currently employing 85 individuals, Omni anticipates reaching a workforce of 150 by year-end.

“Our objective is to maintain strong financial footing and retain control over our trajectory,” Zima emphasized. “An undesirable exit can disrupt a company’s mission, hinder product development, diminish customer experience, and erode innovation. Our strategy involves aggressive funding coupled with prudent spending, ensuring we remain focused on product enhancement without concerns about financial stability. Our prior achievements have also positioned us to adopt a long-term perspective.”