Bringing AI To BI: Business Analytics 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. 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.