Propelo Raises $12M to Revolutionize Engineering with AI
The Rise of Engineering Excellence Platforms
The proliferation of DevOps tools in recent years has led to a corresponding surge in the volume of data available to businesses seeking to refine their software development cycles. However, this data often remains underutilized, typically displayed on dashboards for limited, ad-hoc analysis.
Propelo, formerly known as LevelOps, is addressing this challenge by aiming to establish itself as an “AI-driven engineering excellence platform.” Its core function is to integrate machine learning-powered analytics with no-code robotic process automation (RPA) capabilities.
Securing Series A Funding
The company recently announced the successful completion of a $12 million Series A funding round. This investment was spearheaded by Decibel Partners, with additional participation from Fike Ventures, Eniac Ventures, and Fathom Capital.
From Security to DevOps Insights
Nishant Doshi, founder and CEO of Propelo, previously co-founded the SaaS security firm CirroSecure, which was acquired by Palo Alto Networks in 2015. His subsequent experience as a senior director and VP of engineering at Palo Alto exposed him to the complexities of managing a growing number of DevOps tools.
Doshi observed that gaining a comprehensive understanding of the development process required manually consolidating data from various sources, including Jira, GitHub, and Salesforce.
Image Credits: PropeloThe Challenges of Manual Data Integration
“This process is incredibly manual and demands significant resources,” Doshi explained. “Organizations find themselves diverting focus from their core business to construct makeshift solutions – and the need for additional tools constantly arises.”
He further noted that even with these tools in place, determining relevant metrics can be difficult, and access to the benefits of a dedicated solution is limited. Crucially, the ability to translate data into concrete actions is often lacking.
Image Credits: PropeloActionable Insights Through Automation
Doshi emphasized that the true value lies in closing the loop between data analysis and action. Propelo’s RPA tools empower users – primarily engineering leaders – to automate tasks and workflows, thereby enhancing DevOps processes.
Currently, the platform supports integrations with approximately 40 DevOps tools, such as Jira, GitHub, GitLab, Jenkins, Gerrit, and TestRails.
AI-Powered Bottleneck Detection and Predictive Analysis
Leveraging its AI capabilities, Propelo can identify hidden bottlenecks and forecast potential sprint delays. Addressing the common issue of developers failing to update task statuses from “in progress” to “done” is a key feature.
The platform proactively encourages developers to maintain data hygiene by regularly prompting them to update Jira tickets, recognizing that this is often a neglected task.
Customer Success Stories
Propelo’s current clientele includes prominent companies like Broadcom and CDK Global. Joe Chen, VP of Engineering at Broadcom (responsible for security technologies and endpoint solutions), stated, “Propelo provides us the data-driven insights on how to reduce DevOps friction and reduce wasted motions at a very granular per scrum team level.”
He added that the platform aids in maximizing the return on engineering investments and resolving pain points for engineers.