Announcing StarTree

I am so happy to announce that our new company, StarTree, Inc., just closed on 24M Series A funding to build and offer a SaaS version of the Apache Pinot? analytics platform, the open-source project my co-founder, Xiang Fu, and I developed as engineering leads at LinkedIn.

“And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” — Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

That's the best way to describe our journey so far. We couldn’t have gotten here without the help from all the wonderful people along the way!

LinkedIn 

I just can’t get over LinkedIn - the birthplace of Apache Pinot. It's one of the best places to work. I have had the best mentors at LinkedIn - Kapil Surlaker, Igor Perisic, Raghu Hiremagalur. It’s not a coincidence that we are announcing the company on May 5th - Cinco de Mayo - it’s LinkedIn’s anniversary. LinkedIn and Cinco de Mayo have a special place in my heart!

StarTree Team (Starlings)

It’s not easy to start a company. Thanks to the entire StarTree team for embarking on this journey with me - you have no idea how much it means to have your support. It is amazing to see how passionate each one of you is about the future of StarTree. The way we all came together as a team always reminds me of Starling's mumurations and how these birds fly together in harmony define our culture!

Pinot Community

What excites me the most is the vibrant and loving Pinot Community. “Pinot is borderline magic and is hands down one of the best communities I have seen so far” - this was a quote from one of the members of the community. As an engineer, these are the things that motivate me day in and day out. Thanks to every member of the Pinot Community - you are our oxygen!

Investors

Max Gazor (CRV), Enrique Salem (Bain Capital Ventures), and Glenn Solomon (GGV Capital) - we are very fortunate to be partnering with the best of the best. I am amazed by their depth of knowledge and their vast experience in building companies - this is invaluable for the StarTree Team. Couldn’t have asked for better partners as we embark on this journey!

Angels/Advisors

Neha Narkhede, Chet Kapoor, Jason Forget, Jason Warner, Ameet Patel, Javier Molina - It is amazing to get support from leaders in the open-source industry. They have walked the path we are embarking on and it feels great to have them by our side.

Last but not the least - Family

This is a must for everyone and it’s simply impossible to go through this journey without the support of the family. The most emotional moment for me was when my daughter wanted to invest her entire savings of $80 and said "Here you go, Daddy!"

This is a long journey and we are just getting started. Please read more about the launch on our company blog

?Cheers to the Next Chapter!