Startup Typedef Aims to Help Data Engineers Harness AI

​Typedef, a startup co-founded by data analytics veterans, came out of stealth today with a $5.5 million seed round led by Pear VC. The startup is developing a type of software known as a query engine which helps customers search their own databases and storage systems to get answers to questions.

Query engines are nothing new, but Typedef has built its product to work with AI models and “unstructured” data like emails and call transcripts, said Yoni Michael, co-founder and chief technology officer, in an interview. In doing so, Typedef is targeting data engineers and software developers who aren’t accustomed to analyzing data using AI models. Equipping these kinds of users is a key to ensuring that companies get business value from AI projects, he said.

Typedef certainly has plenty of competition, including companies like Snowflake and Databricks where many of the world’s largest companies store their data. But Michael, who previously held infrastructure engineering roles at Salesforce and startup Tecton (which was featured in our 2020 list of the top 50 promising startups), said Typedef’s specialized focus on AI could enable it to land some business from customers of those larger firms.