Pyramid Analytics Lands $50M to Predict What’s Next and How to Win with AI

The global race to harness artificial intelligence (AI) has intensified, with businesses across industries adopting cutting-edge solutions to remain competitive. Amidst this surge, Pyramid Analytics, a pioneer in AI-powered business analytics, has emerged as a standout player. On Monday, the company announced it raised $50 million in fresh funding from BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager. This milestone underscores the growing demand for AI-driven decision-making tools in a fast-evolving digital economy.

Startups offering AI solutions are thriving despite a subdued private funding environment, driven by a pressing need for efficient, intelligent data interpretation. The global market for big data and business analytics is projected to soar from $225.3 billion in 2023 to an astounding $665.7 billion by 2033, according to Allied Market Research. 

Innovating at the Intersection of AI and Business Intelligence

Pyramid Analytics has crafted a niche in leveraging AI and machine learning (ML) to enhance data-driven decision-making. Incorporated in Amsterdam, with offices in London, New York, and Tel Aviv, the company boasts an impressive client roster that includes the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Hallmark, Deloitte, and Volkswagen. The Pyramid Decision Intelligence Platform is a testament to its capabilities, delivering insights that empower users to make faster, smarter decisions.

The recent funding round, led by BlackRock, builds on Pyramid’s history of robust investment. Its previous Series E round in May 2022 secured $120 million, led by H.I.G. Growth Partners, bringing its total funding to over $200 million at that time. While Pyramid has consistently refrained from disclosing its exact valuation, industry estimates pegged its value near the $1 billion mark during the 2022 round.

John Doyle, Managing Director at BlackRock, expressed confidence in Pyramid’s vision, stating:
“Pyramid sits at the intersection of data analytics and AI capabilities, two segments that continue to benefit from robust secular tailwinds.”

This latest funding will support Pyramid’s dual-pronged focus: enhancing its decision intelligence platform and pioneering tools for data science and machine learning (DSML).

Merging Generative AI with Business Intelligence

One of Pyramid Analytics’ flagship innovations is GenBI, a framework that integrates generative AI (GenAI) and large language models (LLMs) into business intelligence. GenBI enables users to extract insights from complex datasets simply by asking questions in natural language, with results presented as dynamic BI dashboards. Unlike traditional methods, which require significant technical expertise or time-consuming data uploads, GenBI provides actionable insights in as little as 30 seconds.

Omri Kohl, Pyramid’s CEO and co-founder, described the transformative potential of GenBI:
“GenBI allows anyone to tap into the insights they need, regardless of their level of expertise. Traditional BI tools require the user to know which is the best data manipulation technique to receive the necessary results. But most people don’t think in pie charts, scatter charts, or tables. They just want answers to their questions.”

This democratization of data analytics ensures that even non-technical users can navigate complex datasets effortlessly, fostering a truly data-driven culture within organizations.

Technological Innovations Driving GenBI

At the heart of GenBI’s functionality are three core components:

1. Sophisticated Prompting for LLMs: This ensures natural language queries are translated into precise analytical steps.
2. Seamless Data Integration: The platform processes diverse datasets, from basic to highly complex, to deliver accurate insights.
3. Dynamic Query Execution: GenBI performs real-time data analysis, presenting results as clear visualizations or plain language summaries.

Pyramid’s CTO, Avi Perez, elaborated on the company’s vision:
“The idea is to tell somebody not just what did happen, not why it happened, but what could happen – and what they should do to make it a better outcome, more profitability, lower the cost, better quality, whatever the reason is.”

Tackling Challenges and Scaling Innovation

Developing GenBI wasn’t without hurdles. Speed and accuracy were critical benchmarks. Pyramid optimized workflows to ensure near-instantaneous results and mitigated the risk of AI hallucinations, a common issue with LLMs.

The next frontier lies in supporting hyper-specific queries and enabling users to apply their own mathematical interpretations to datasets. Pyramid is also working on integrating its technology with live, continuously updated data lakes. These advancements promise to solidify its position as a leader in the analytics space.

The feedback from early adopters has been overwhelmingly positive, with nearly three-quarters of testing teams adopting the platform. Industries such as insurance, banking, retail, and manufacturing are witnessing a shift as Pyramid’s tools empower employees across all levels to access and utilize data effectively.

Pyramid’s GenBI framework is poised to revolutionize decision-making, much like GPS transformed navigation. As Perez aptly puts it:
“In the next six to 12 months, you’re going to see a bunch of big leaps with some high-powered capabilities. The depth to which you can go with simple natural language questions or requests is going to be phenomenal.”