Byte-Sized Beginnings: The Duo Behind Atlan

Prukalpa Sankar and Varun Banka co-founded Atlan in 2018, building upon their prior entrepreneurial experiences. Before Atlan, they established SocialCops in 2012, a data intelligence startup aimed at addressing civic challenges through data-driven solutions. SocialCops undertook significant projects, such as mapping India’s villages to enhance access to resources like LPG connections and developing India’s national data platform, Disha. 

Prukalpa Sankar

Prukalpa is a graduate of Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, where she earned a degree in Engineering with a focus on entrepreneurship. Before starting Atlan, she co-founded SocialCops, a data intelligence startup that became a leading force in the “data for good” movement. SocialCops was recognized globally for its impactful projects, such as creating data platforms for the Indian government to improve public service delivery. She has also been recognized as one of the Forbes 30 Under 30 and Fortune 40 Under 40, underscoring her contributions to the tech and data industries​​.

Varun Banka

Varun, also an alumnus of Nanyang Technological University, studied Computer Engineering with a minor in Business. Like Prukalpa, he was a co-founder of SocialCops, where he led multiple innovative data projects. Varun’s early career included roles at Barclays Capital and Microsoft, where he gained experience in operations and technology. His technical and operational expertise laid the groundwork for building scalable solutions at Atlan​​.

The founding story

The founding story of Atlan is deeply tied to their experiences at SocialCops. While working on complex data projects, they encountered the significant challenges data teams face in managing collaboration across diverse stakeholders. These difficulties inspired them to create Atlan, a platform designed to reduce friction in data workflows and empower teams to focus on insights rather than processes. Established in 2018 in Singapore, Atlan now serves over 200 data teams globally, ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies​.

Data Gold Rush: Mining the Market Potential

The enterprise data management (EDM) market is experiencing significant growth, driven by the increasing need for organizations to manage vast amounts of data effectively. In 2023, the global EDM market was valued at approximately USD 92.18 billion. Projections indicate that it will reach USD 224.87 billion by 2032, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.5% during this period. (Fortune Business Insights)

Several factors contribute to this robust expansion. The widespread adoption of Internet of Things (IoT) devices has led to an exponential increase in data generation, necessitating efficient data management solutions. Additionally, the growing emphasis on regulatory compliance and data security compels organizations to invest in comprehensive EDM systems. The integration of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) into data management platforms further enhances their capabilities, driving market growth.

Regionally, North America holds a significant share of the EDM market, attributed to the presence of major technology firms and early adoption of innovative data solutions. However, the Asia-Pacific region is expected to witness the highest growth rate, propelled by rapid digital transformation and increasing investments in data infrastructure. (MarketsandMarkets)

Anchored in Purpose: What Makes Atlan Unsinkable

By integrating various data tools and fostering a unified environment, Atlan enhances efficiency and agility in data projects. Their mission is to empower organizations to make data-driven decisions through innovative solutions. The company aims to democratize data access, ensuring that data is accessible, understandable, and actionable for everyone, regardless of their technical expertise.

Vision

Atlan envisions revolutionizing the global management and utilization of data. The company strives to create a future where data collaboration is seamless, intuitive, and enjoyable, breaking down silos and fostering innovation across organizations.

Problems They Solve

Data teams often face challenges such as collaboration overheads, data silos, and trust issues, which hinder efficiency. Atlan addresses these issues by providing a unified platform that integrates with various data tools, enabling teams to manage data workflows effectively. This integration ensures that data is accessible and trustworthy across an organization, reducing friction in data workflows and empowering teams to focus on insights rather than processes.

Business Model

They operate on a subscription-based business model, offering its platform as a service to organizations seeking to enhance their data collaboration and governance. By providing a scalable and flexible solution, Atlan caters to a diverse range of clients, from startups to Fortune 500 companies, enabling them to harness the full potential of their data assets

Tools of the Trade: Atlan’s Treasure Chest

Atlan offers a comprehensive data collaboration platform designed to streamline data management and enhance teamwork across various data stakeholders. Its suite of products and features addresses the complexities of modern data ecosystems, providing solutions that foster efficiency, transparency, and trust.

Data Discovery and Catalog

Their data discovery feature acts as a “Google for data,” allowing users to search data assets using natural language, SQL syntax, or business context. This tool helps users find trust signals, such as who last used a dataset or its role in executive dashboards. Personalized browsing experiences make it easier for analysts, engineers, and business users to navigate their data universe effectively​​.

Data Asset 360°

This feature provides a holistic view of all data assets, such as tables, columns, and dashboards. Data Asset 360° allows users to preview masked data samples, trace column-level lineage, and explore relationships between assets seamlessly. It centralizes documentation with collaborative tools like Slack and GitHub, making data governance intuitive​​.

Column-Level Lineage

Their column-level lineage capability offers unparalleled insights into data flow. Users can trace data at a granular level, automate SQL parsing, and connect to BI tools for cross-system lineage. These tools make identifying impacted datasets during upstream changes or failed pipelines efficient, promoting faster resolutions​.

Active Metadata for DataOps

Active metadata is the backbone of their data ecosystem. It supports automated alerts, metadata propagation, and advanced enrichment workflows. By embedding metadata into BI tools and enabling dynamic data optimizations, it empowers teams to maintain a clean and efficient data landscape​​.

Custom Metadata and Personalization

Atlan allows users to define and manage custom metadata through an intuitive no-code interface. Teams can assign contributors, score data quality, and create modular widgets tailored to specific workflows. Personalized discovery experiences further enhance usability for diverse roles like data analysts and engineers​​.

Data Glossary and Business Metrics

This tool organizes business terms, KPIs, and metrics into a connected semantic network, promoting a unified understanding of data assets across teams. Features like linked assets and requests ensure glossary accuracy while fostering collaborative knowledge sharing​.

Active Data Governance

Unlike traditional governance systems, their active governance combines automation and AI to simplify compliance. Features like automated tagging, policy management, and approval workflows reduce manual effort, ensuring organizations remain aligned with regulations and governance standards​​.

DIY Setup and Integration

They boast a DIY setup that allows users to integrate all data sources in minutes. Its user-friendly interface, coupled with native integrations and activity monitoring, minimizes onboarding time, ensuring quick value realization​​.

The Metadata Marvel: Inside Atlan’s Tech

Their technology architecture is built to address the intricate challenges of modern data ecosystems. Its foundation is based on active metadata, which transforms passive metadata into actionable insights by embedding intelligence and automation across the data lifecycle. This approach creates a data ecosystem that is always on, intelligent, and action-oriented, making Atlan more than just a data catalog—it is a connected data workspace.

Their active metadata framework powers capabilities like automated data lineage, data quality insights, and real-time impact analysis. For example, column-level lineage automatically traces data from source to downstream assets, allowing users to identify dependencies and changes with precision. This capability is driven by their SQL parsing and open API architecture, enabling deep integrations with modern data tools like Snowflake, Looker, and Tableau. The result is a seamless experience where users can explore data relationships, propagate metadata, and manage changes dynamically​​.

The platform emphasizes automation to reduce manual intervention. Their intelligent automation features include metadata suggestions, rules-based tagging, and playbooks for repetitive tasks. These playbooks allow teams to auto-classify sensitive data, monitor data freshness, and generate documentation programmatically. For instance, Atlan automatically identifies Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and applies security policies across assets. This reduces compliance risks while saving time for data teams​​.

Collaboration is a cornerstone of their technology. The platform integrates with tools like Slack, Jira, and GitHub, embedding communication and issue-tracking directly into data workflows. This connected environment ensures that data users—from engineers to analysts—can collaborate without switching contexts. For example, users can generate Jira tickets for broken pipelines or alert team members directly from the lineage graph, streamlining resolution processes​​.

They also excel in personalization. Its Personas and Purposes features allow users to tailor the platform based on specific roles or project needs. Engineers can search by SQL syntax, while analysts can navigate by business context. Additionally, metadata curation enables organizations to create domain-specific filters and dashboards that align with their workflows, ensuring each user sees the most relevant data​.

Gold Medals and Data Trophies: Atlan’s Winning Streak

They have emerged as a leader in the data collaboration and governance space. Trusted by global companies like Amazon, Apple, and Spotify, Atlan supports teams in making data more accessible, understandable, and actionable​​.

It was named a Leader in The Forrester Wave™: Enterprise Data Catalogs, Q3 2024, underscoring its excellence in metadata management and active data governance. The company also launched the Modern Data Team Awards to celebrate the achievements of data professionals and teams. 

 In October 2021, Atlan announced a partnership with Snowflake, the Data Cloud company. This collaboration aimed to create a unified discovery and collaboration experience across the modern data stack, combining data cataloging, lineage, and governance to empower data teams to work more effectively. (Business Wire)

Building on this relationship, in April 2022, Atlan became the first data catalog validated as a Snowflake Ready Technology Partner. This validation involved a rigorous audit of their native integration with Snowflake, ensuring it met functional and performance best practices. 

In September 2022, Atlan partnered with Fivetran, a leader in automated data integration, to leverage Fivetran’s Metadata API. This partnership enabled end-to-end, column-level lineage, providing data teams with a comprehensive view of their data pipelines and enhancing transparency across the modern data stack. Atlan also collaborated with dbt Labs, becoming a launch partner for the dbt Semantic Layer in October 2022.  (Humans of Data)

Counting the Data Dollars: Atlan’s Financial Odyssey

They have raised a total equity funding of $206 million across five rounds, backed by 32 investors, including 21 institutional and 11 angel investors. In May 2024, Atlan secured $105 million in a Series C round. Leading institutional investors, including GIC, Meritech, Salesforce Ventures, Peak XV Partners, Insight Partners, and WaterBridge, participated in this round. (Tracxn)

Earlier in 2024, Atlan closed a $27.5 million Series B round with investors such as WaterBridge, Salesforce Ventures, Peak XV Partners, and corporate investor Grace Software. In March 2022, Atlan raised $50 million in another Series B round at a valuation of $450 million. Investors like Insight Partners, Salesforce Ventures, WaterBridge, and angel investors Taylor Brown and Ajeet Singh supported the company. They also demonstrated remarkable revenue growth with $1.8 million in revenue that year, achieving a revenue multiple of 219.9x, underscoring its strong market potential.

Atlan’s $16.5 million Series A round in May 2021 featured prominent investors like Insight Partners, Surge, and WaterBridge, along with notable angel investors Bob Muglia, Bob Moore, Jake Stein, Auren Hoffman, and Akshay Kothari. Earlier, in 2019, they raised $2.6 million in a seed round backed by WaterBridge, 500 Global, and others, which laid the foundation for its initial product innovations.

The company’s financial performance reflects its focus on scaling operations and investing in technology. Revenue grew from $0.5 million in FY 2020-21 to $5.6 million in FY 2022-23. Despite significant EBITDA losses, such as $24.6 million in FY 2022-23, their investments in R&D and scaling operations highlight its long-term growth strategy.

Data Dreams Delivered: Make Your Atlan-Inspired Leap

Atlan is a modern data collaboration platform that simplifies how teams work with data. It provides tools for data discovery, cataloging, governance, and automation, ensuring that every member of a data team—from analysts to engineers—can work efficiently. The platform integrates seamlessly with popular data tools like Snowflake, Tableau, and dbt, creating a unified workspace for all data operations.

Atlan is built on active metadata, which transforms passive data into actionable insights. This allows teams to automate routine tasks, trace data lineage at a granular level, and ensure data quality without manual effort. Features like column-level lineage, automated policy management, and custom metadata make Atlan a powerful tool for modern data teams.

Beyond its technology, their mission is to democratize data and make it accessible and meaningful to everyone in an organization. It turns complex data systems into intuitive experiences, empowering businesses to make informed decisions faster and with confidence. For more stories about innovative companies like Atlan, visit Venture Kites. Explore how others are solving challenges, and get inspired to create your own path to success.