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In 2014, Jason Frantz and Rob Woollen co-founded Sigma Computing<\/a>, a platform that overlays data stored in data platforms such as Snowflake and Google BigQuery with a spreadsheet-like interface for data visualization and analytics. With Sigma, the two former software engineers sought to tackle what they perceived as the intractable data challenges faced by large corporations: unwieldy tooling and difficult-to-manage data stores. <\/p>\n In a 2023 survey<\/a> from Oracle, the majority of business leaders said that they don\u2019t believe their employer\u2019s current approach to data and analytics is addressing their needs. Seventy-seven percent said that the dashboards and charts they get aren\u2019t germane to decisions they need to make, and 72% admit the sheer volume of data \u2014 and their lack of trust in that data \u2014 has at times stopped them from making decisions altogether.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter recognizing the huge advances in cloud data infrastructure during the past decade, Jason and Rob identified a gap in the market,\u201d Sigma Computing CEO Mike Palmer told TechCrunch in an interview. \u201cSigma is building a data workspace for everyone \u2014 where teams can analyze data in spreadsheets, build business intelligence in the form of dashboards and reports and create data workflows and applications where data never leaves a company\u2019s data warehouse.\u201d<\/p>\n Out of the gate (in 2014), Sigma only offered a set of basic business intelligence and analytics tools to connect to a customer\u2019s outside databases. But the firm \u2014 which Frantz and Woollen founded while entrepreneurs in residence at Sutton Hill Ventures, Woollen having come from Salesforce\u2019s Work.com org<\/a> \u2014 quickly grew from there.<\/p>\n Today, Sigma\u2019s product suite consists of tools that let users analyze data \u201cin-place\u201d in databases containing up to billions of records. Customers can tap the platform to build dashboards, reports, workflows and apps without data leaving its source. <\/p>\n \u201cWe champion what we call \u2018massive multiplayer business intelligence,\u2019 a dynamic environment where professionals, regardless of their technical expertise, come together to leverage their distinct skills, all in real time, all within the same platform,\u201d Palmer said. <\/p>\n The go-to-market strategy has turned out to be a winning one. <\/p>\n According to Palmer, Sigma\u2019s revenue has grown 100% year-over-year for four straight years on the back of a ~1,000-company customer base. Those figures have investors pleased. On Thursday, Sigma closed a $200 million Series D funding round co-led by Avenir Growth Capital and Spark Capital that values the company at $1.5 billion, up 60% from its valuation in 2021 (when it raised $300 million).<\/p>\n Palmer believes the key to Sigma\u2019s success in the face of stiff competition like Tableau and Microsoft\u2019s Power BI has been a continued focus on creating data analytics tools with a low barrier to entry. <\/p>\n \u201cExisting business intelligence platforms were primarily designed for \u2018super-analysts\u2019 \u2014 individuals who work within lines of business and grasp the intricacies of enterprise-scale data manipulation,\u201d Palmer said. \u201cFor most people, business intelligence was \u2014 and remains \u2014 a significant hurdle. Jason and Rob believed there was a giant market of smart people that have either been ignored by more technical tools or have been given simple tools that only allow them to ask simple questions.\u201d<\/p>\n It probably doesn\u2019t hurt that the market for business intelligence and analytics tools is huge \u2014 and growing at a very healthy pace. According<\/a> to Precedence Research, a market research firm, the business intelligence sector alone will climb from $27.24 billion in 2022 to 54.9 billion by 2023.<\/p>\n With Sigma\u2019s massive war chest \u2014 $581 million in venture capital \u2014 and a staff of around 450, the company plans grow its operations in the U.S. and internationally and invest in AI, specifically integrations with generative AI platforms like OpenAI\u2019s to let users ask questions about their company\u2019s data.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe, due to data volumes, speed of change and governance, plus security requirements, that data will increasingly be centralized in systems like Databricks and Snowflake,\u201d Palmer said. \u201cFor competitive enterprises to work synchronously and at high velocity, you need to provide your employees with raw, live data and the tools to build and communicate together. And they need a platform that enables them to access that data with whatever skills they have.\u201d <\/p>\n Snowflake Ventures, Sutter Hill Ventures, D1 Ventures, Xn Ventures and Altimeter Capital also participated in Sigma\u2019s Series D.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n