Data collaboration software platform Atlan raises $16 mn Series A

Data collaboration software provider Atlan said it has raised $16 million (Rs 116.4 crore) as part of its Series A funding round led by global venture capital and private equity firm Insight Partners.

Existing investors Sequoia's Surge and Waterbridge Ventures also participated in the round, said Atlan in a statement.

Others who contributed to the funding round include angel investors such as Bob Muglia, former chief executive of Snowflake; Bob Moore and Jake Stein, founders of Stitch; and Auren Hoffman, founder of Safegraph and Liveramp, it added.

The startup will use the funds to ramp up its team and accelerate its go-to market motion.

Atlan was founded in 2018 by Prukalpa Sankar and Varun Banka as an internal project at data-for-good firm SocialCops.

Sankar and Banka had launched SocialCops in late 2012 in Singapore while pursuing graduation. SocialCops had raised seed funding in 2014. 

The company has been involved in projects including India’s National Data Platform and gas subsidy programme Ujjwala Yojana. It has also been part of global Sustainable Development Goals monitoring in partnership with the United Nations.

Former Google's Southeast Asia and India vice-president Rajan Anandan, who is now with Sequoia, had invested in SocialCops. He also invested in Atlan.

Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus of Tata Sons; US-based 500 Startups; Singapore-based venture capital firm Hatcher; and family offices such as those of the Bhagchandka family also invested in Atlan.

In July 2019, Atlan said it had raised Rs 18 crore (about $2.6 million) in a pre-Series A round of funding led by early-stage venture capital firm WaterBridge Ventures.

Teddie Wardi, managing director of Insight Partners, said that Atlan is bringing a truly collaborative approach to the modern data stack, leading the way like Figma did for design teams or Github did for engineering teams. Wardi will join Atlan's board of directors as part of this transaction.

Insight Partners is a global venture capital and private equity firm investing in high-growth technology and software companies. Founded in 1995, it has raised more than $30 billion and invested in over 400 companies worldwide.