SaaS-y women: How Prukalpa Sankar's Atlan brings context to data

Data is only as good as the intelligence drawn from it. Stitching together varied queries requires a kind of cross-functional collaboration that is difficult to do in siloed setups, and that's where data ops startup Atlan steps in

By Varsha Meghani Forbes India Staff

Published: May 18, 2022 01:01:14 PM IST

Updated: May 18, 2022 01:37:04 PM IST

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Prukalpa Sankar (left) and Varun Banka founded Atlan in 2019

It’s often said that we’ve entered an era where every company is a data company. But translating troves of data into actionable insights can be a chaotic task. It’s not uncommon to hear questions such as these tossed around by the individuals trying to make sense of the data: What does this column sales_2019 mean? Our revenue numbers on this dashboard look off. How exactly do we measure ARR?

Stitching together these varied queries requires a kind of cross-functional collaboration that is difficult to do in siloed setups. That’s where data ops startup Atlan steps in.

Founded by Prukalpa Sankar and Varun Banka in 2019, Atlan provides a discovery and collaboration tool that helps bring context, trust and better understanding to the modern data stack. It allows data teams to work together seamlessly and efficiently.

“Today, data assets are not just tables, but code, models, dashboards and pipelines,” says Sankar, co-founder. “Meta data is the glue that can bind the modern data stack together, allowing increasingly diverse, siloed teams to collaborate effectively.”

Since starting out as an internal tool to help the duo better manage their affairs at data-for-good startup Social Cops, which they co-founded fresh out of Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University in 2013, Atlan has emerged as a global leader in the space.

Customers include global and Indian businesses like Plaid, WeWork, Postman, Unilever, Ralph Lauren, Paytm and Delhivery. Think of Atlan’s software as a home where data teams can collaborate, discuss, and work together to drive value. Much like Github was to engineering teams or Figma is to design teams.

Subscriptions start at $2,500 a month and can be infinitely scalable based on a per user, per month calculation. Atlan reported a 10-fold growth in customers and revenue in 2021, says Sankar, without disclosing additional details. Registered in Singapore, the startup employs around 100 people across 13 countries including the US, UK, Nigeria, Philippines and Romania. “It’s something we’re really proud of,” smiles Sankar.

In March, Atlan closed a $50 million Series B round at a $450 million valuation led by Salesforce Ventures, Insight Partners and Sequoia Capital India. This fund raise came just eight months after its $16 million Series A led by Insight Partners and high-profile angels like Bob Muglia, former CEO of Snowflake.

“We’ve reached a stage where we’ve hit product market fit, repeatability and get in-bound queries,” says Sankar. “We’re now poised to grow fast. We just need to out-execute everybody…We want to be that icon on the desktop for data teams. That’s the ultimate goal.”