A Breakthrough Approach to Making Data Useful

Every day, we create 2.5 billion gigabytes of data. New developments in data storage, ranging from Hadoop to object-oriented approaches, have enabled us to store that data more efficiently, and advances in visualization technology turn the data into actionable business intelligence. Still, so much of the data is untouched, awaiting the development of new analytic methods that will generate the insights that business leaders need.

Advanced analytics is where the heavy lifting occurs in the Big Data equation. These analytics create the Aha! moments – the trajectory-changing insights and the culture-changing breakthroughs that make the difference between success and failure. IDC has predicted that global spending this year on Big Data solutions will reach $125B. If this level of investment is to live up to its promise, it will be because of brilliant and creative thinkers who are developing a new wave of advanced analytics.

This is why we invested in Ayasdi.

Ayasdi emerged from Stanford’s mathematics department – the only startup ever to do so. The team has developed a machine-intelligence approach to advanced analytics, combining topological data analysis with machine learning to cull insights from data in ways most of us can only begin to imagine.

Advanced analytics is where the heavy lifting occurs in the Big Data equation.

It’s a novel approach, and already customers have begun to take notice. Several Fortune 500 companies have signed up to see how Ayasdi can apply its methods to their highest value problems. Even more promising is the fact that Ayasdi is now capable of tailoring the product to specific verticals such as health care and financial services, all while also winning customers in sectors from manufacturing to energy.

With tenfold growth in the amount of data in the world projected between 2013 and 2020, every segment within the Big Data universe – storage, visualization, and analytics – must get better. But advanced analytics is where a breakthrough approach can truly be a game-changer. We’re inspired by how Ayasdi is taking on the problems of data complexity, and we’re delighted to partner with these unique entrepreneurs as they pursue the mission of making the world’s most complex data useful to all.

Ted Schlein is a general partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.