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Karmasphere has raised $16.0M across 4 funding rounds.
Key people at Karmasphere.
Karmasphere has raised $16.0M in total across 4 funding rounds.
Karmasphere, based in Cupertino, California, developed software products for data analysts to access, analyze, and visualize structured and unstructured data within Apache Hadoop environments. The company offered a suite of tools, including Karmasphere Analyst for ad hoc queries, Karmasphere Studio for custom algorithms, and a Big Data workspace designed for mining web, mobile, sensor, and social media data. It secured a total of $14.5 million in venture funding from investors such as Hummer Winblad, US Venture Partners, and Presidio Ventures, with key figures like Ann Winblad, David Liddle, and Shun Aramaki participating. Karmasphere was subsequently acquired by FICO in April 2014. The organization was founded in 2010 by Meng Weng Wong and Martin Hall. Its business model centers on venture-funded software company selling Big Data intelligence tools for Hadoop projects and workflows.
Karmasphere has raised $16.0M in total across 4 funding rounds.
Karmasphere's investors include Accel, HWVP (Hummer Winblad Venture Partners), Shun Aramaki, Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, U.S. Venture Partners, Ann Winblad, David Liddle.
Key people at Karmasphere.
Karmasphere has raised $16.0M across 4 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $2.0M Series C in September 2013.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1, 2013 | $2M Series C | — | Accel, HWVP (Hummer Winblad Venture Partners) | Announced |
| Dec 1, 2012 | $3M Series C | — | Accel, HWVP (Hummer Winblad Venture Partners) | Announced |
| Sep 1, 2011 | $6M Series B | Shun Aramaki | Accel, HWVP (Hummer Winblad Venture Partners), Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, U.S. Venture Partners | Announced |
| Mar 1, 2010 | $5M Series A | ANN Winblad, David Liddle | Accel, HWVP (Hummer Winblad Venture Partners) | Announced |
Karmasphere was a software company that developed tools enabling data analysts and professionals to explore, analyze, and derive insights from Big Data on Hadoop platforms.[1][3][4] Its products created collaborative workspaces and graphical environments for handling unstructured, semi-structured, or structured data from sources like web, mobile, sensors, and social media, helping businesses identify patterns, optimize operations, and uncover customer insights.[1][3][4] Founded in 2010 in Cupertino, California, Karmasphere raised $14.5M before being acquired by FICO in April 2014, after which it ceased independent operations.[1]
The company targeted data professionals, analysts, and supporting developers across industries including financial services, healthcare, media, and more, solving the complexity of Hadoop access by bringing Big Data analytics to desktops without deep technical expertise.[1][2][4] This democratized advanced analytics, empowering non-engineers to spot trends, relationships, and business opportunities directly.[1][3]
Karmasphere emerged in 2010 amid the early explosion of Big Data technologies, specifically targeting the challenges of Apache Hadoop, which was gaining traction but remained inaccessible to many analysts due to its command-line complexity.[1][2][4] Founded in Cupertino, California, the company built on the need for user-friendly interfaces to unlock Hadoop's potential for pattern discovery in diverse data types.[1][4] Key details on specific founders are not detailed in available records, but the team focused on creating desktop-accessible Big Data intelligence from inception.[2]
Early traction centered on providing graphical workspaces that simplified data navigation, earning recognition for breaking through Hadoop barriers and enabling customer analytics.[1][4] This positioned Karmasphere as a bridge between raw Big Data power and practical business use, culminating in its acquisition by FICO in April 2014, which integrated its technology into FICO's analytics portfolio.[1]
Karmasphere rode the 2010s Big Data wave, particularly the Hadoop ecosystem's rise as enterprises grappled with exploding volumes of varied data from digital sources.[1][2] Its timing was ideal: Hadoop was maturing (Cloudera founded 2008), but usability gaps persisted, creating demand for tools that empowered non-technical analysts amid the shift to data-driven decisions.[1] Market forces like growing customer analytics needs and cost-reduction pressures favored its desktop-friendly approach, influencing the ecosystem by pioneering analyst workspaces that prefigured modern no-code/low-code data tools.[3][4]
By simplifying Hadoop, Karmasphere contributed to broader adoption of Big Data in business intelligence, paving the way for hybrid platforms like Cloudera's and accelerating analytics democratization.[1] Its FICO acquisition amplified this impact, embedding user-centric Big Data capabilities into enterprise risk and customer management systems.[1]
As an acquired entity since 2014, Karmasphere no longer operates independently, but its technology endures within FICO's analytics suite, likely enhanced by modern AI and cloud integrations.[1] Looking ahead, its legacy aligns with ongoing trends in accessible Big Data—self-service analytics, AI-augmented insights, and hybrid cloud platforms—which will shape descendants like low-code data lakes and real-time ML tools.[1][2] Influence may evolve through FICO's expansions into predictive analytics, potentially powering next-gen customer optimization in a data-saturated world, underscoring how early innovators like Karmasphere enabled today's analytics accessibility.
