German computer scientists raise $30 million to aid companies in interpreting their data

Many organizations struggle to become data-driven and utilize their data effectively. A recent Gartner survey found that fewer than half of data and analytics leaders believe their teams provide significant value. In response, German computer scientist Michael Berthold and his colleagues created a platform to address this issue.

“The initial goal was to create a modular, highly scalable, and open data processing platform that allowed for the easy integration of various data loading, processing, transformation, analysis, and visual exploration modules, without focusing on any specific application area,” Berthold stated. “The software was designed to be professional-grade and also serve as an integration platform for various other data analysis projects.”

The open-source platform they developed, KNIME, eventually grew into a VC-backed startup of the same name. Today, KNIME serves 400 customers with its fully managed platform, including prominent names like Audi, AMD, Lilly, Novartis, Bayer, Sanofi, Genentech, the FDA, P&G, and Mercedes-Benz. According to Berthold, annual recurring revenue has been increasing by 30-40% annually since KNIME’s founding in 2008, now reaching approximately €30 million ($32.35 million).

KNIME’s software is based on visual, no-code workflows designed to integrate with an organization’s existing systems. Users can employ KNIME to build data transformation pipelines, generate reports and visualizations, or compare different data sets, regardless of data location. The KNIME business hub enables companies to automate and deploy data workflows with added governance and security features, build internal libraries for workflow sharing and editing, and access workflows created by the KNIME community.

KNIME’s annual licenses start at $39,900 for the business hub, a price point that has attracted customers and investors alike. Recently, KNIME announced a $30 million investment from Invus, bringing its total funding to $50 million. The new funds will support product development, expanding KNIME’s team from 250 to 275 by year-end, and customer acquisition efforts in the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

In response to competition from data analytics firms like Dataiku, Alteryx, IBM, and SAS, Berthold highlighted KNIME’s new AI assistant, which helps users initiate or enhance data projects, and the planned expansion of its software-as-a-service offerings targeting small- and medium-sized businesses with pay-as-you-go tiers.

“KNIME was close to profitability in 2024, but with the additional investment, we’ve chosen to invest more and grow in the coming years,” Berthold said. “We’ve seen a slowdown in tech, mostly resulting in longer sales cycles and tougher negotiations. In some cases, budgets were put on hold, but the adoption of our open-source analytics platform has continued, positioning KNIME well for the future.”