Bringing AI To Data Analytics And Knowledge Management: Startups Anodot And Maana Snag New Financing

Two startups pushing the technology boundaries of artificial intelligence in the big data arena reported big wins on the venture capital front on Tuesday.

Maana, which develops a "knowledge-centric" data search and discovery platform, said it raised $28 million in Series C funding. Anodot, developer of next-generation business analytics software, disclosed the completion of a Series B funding round of $23 million.

The announcements wrap up a year in which private equity firms, established IT vendors and others invested heavily in startup companies developing software for managing and analyzing huge volumes of data – especially those incorporating AI and machine learning technologies into their products.

[Related: The 2017 Big Data 100 ]

Maana, based in Palo Alto, Calif., develops the AI-based Maana Knowledge Platform, a system that uses the company's patented Knowledge Graph technology and algorithms to provide a holistic view of assets or processes a company wants to optimize.

The company's more immediate focus for its software has been on industrial digital transformation applications – especially in the oil and gas industry.

The $28 million in Series C funding brings Maana's total funding to more than $71 million.

The round was led by China International Capital Corp. (CICC) and Eight Square Capital. Other new investors included Accenture Ventures and Sino Capital, and participating existing investors included Intel Capital, GE Ventures, Chevron Technology Ventures, Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures and Shell Technology Ventures.

"The latest investment will be used to scale our business globally and support our growing Fortune Global 500 customer base," said Maana CEO and co-founder Babur Ozden, in a statement. "This funding, combined with the strategic alliance Maana has established with Accenture, demonstrates the demand for Maana's cutting-edge, AI-driven knowledge technology as a key enabler of digital transformation at the world's largest industrial companies."

Anodot, with headquarters in Ra'anana, Israel, and Sunnyvale, Calif., markets business analysis software that uses machine learning technology to detect anomalies within huge volumes of data and help businesses identify problems and capture new opportunities.

The company, which said it tripled its revenue in the last year, just recently launched AI Analytics for Retail, an edition of its software specifically for the online retail industry.

Anodot said it received $15 million in financing led by Redline Capital management, along with existing investors Aleph Venture Capital and Disruptive Technologies Venture Capital. That, along with earlier investments, brings its total Series B round funding to $23 million.

"Business Intelligence presents a multi-billion-dollar market and Anodot's differentiated approach adds AI to BI," said Benno Jering, principal at Redline Capital, in a statement.

"Traditional BI focuses on dashboards and other tools that analyze historical data, focusing on specific portions of data and addressing pre-defined queries. Anodot addresses a completely different need by surfacing the issues you wouldn't know to ask about, across constantly changing massive amounts of data. Anodot's analytics provide the full picture across all data at a granular level so companies can understand what's going in every market, with every product, across every device," Jering said.