DataRobot by the Numbers in 2018

As 2018 comes to an end, we’d like to look back and revisit some highlights of the past 12 months.

13 Enterprise Releases + 37 Cloud Releases

One of the benefits of having software as a service (SaaS) in the cloud is that users can benefit from new capabilities as soon as we create them. Our development team was busy in 2018 cranking out no less than 37 cloud updates, which were then grouped together into four major Enterprise releases and nine additional minor releases for customers who wish to deploy DataRobot on-premises or via Virtual Private Cloud (VPC).

Some of the major product additions and enhancements we’ve delivered in 2018 include:

• Time Series – Building on the 2017 acquisition of Nutonian and its robust Eureqa modeling engine, DataRobot can now automate the development of sophisticated time series models that predict the future values of a data series based on its history and trends.

• Model Management – Users can monitor the in-production models driving their business to make sure they remain accurate and consistent through changing market conditions. Outdated models can be easily re-trained and replaced with no impact to downstream systems and processes.

• Model Compliance Documentation – DataRobot now generates model compliance documentation to automate this necessary but time-consuming process. Having this thorough and consistent documentation expedites the model validation process and ensures models align with regulatory and industry requirements.

• Model Recommendations – Unique badges are now added during the modeling process to identify models on the Leaderboard that are the Most Accurate, Fast & Accurate, and Recommended for Deployment.

• Automated Feature Reduction – DataRobot can now detect and remove features from a training dataset that can cause target leakage and lead to overly optimistic models. It can also detect potentially redundant features and allow users to easily omit them.

Monotonicity constraints, anomaly detection insights, scoring code for multiclass models, and more – there were so many advanced functions added in 2018 and it’s impossible to name them all. As the pioneer of automated machine learning, it’s safe to say that the innovations we delivered in 2018 raised what was already a high standard to new heights.

Major Announcements

In 2018, we announced new customers, partnerships, product capabilities, executive hires, and more.

• Customers announced in 2018 included: Aegon, BASF, Humana, Kroger. Lenovo, New York Life, Panasonic, PNC Bank, United Airlines, and US Bank.

• In April, we launched our new AI Partner Program, a global initiative to create a world-class ecosystem of reseller and consultative partners who offer best-of-breed technologies and world-class support. Technology partners added to the program in 2018 include (click on each logo for full details):

• In May, DataRobot became available on the AWS European Union (EU) Region to support the unique needs of European customers whose data is tightly regulated, and who have to conform to General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requirements.

• In July, we acquired Nexosis, a software company based in Columbus, Ohio. Their vision for automated machine learning was closely aligned with ours, and their employees have become great additions to the DataRobot family.

• In August, we announced the addition of automated time series modeling capabilities following an extensive collaboration with more than 75 customers and world-class data scientists.

• In September, we kicked off our official military and veteran hiring initiative by signing a Statement of Support for Guard and Reserve Members through the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), a Department of Defense program.

AI Experience

In 2018, DataRobot brought automated machine learning to the world through our AI Experience roadshow. This year, DataRobot traveled to six cities (including San Francisco, London, and Chicago, providing attendees with the opportunity to learn how companies are transforming their organizations into AI-driven enterprises. The event culminated in Tokyo on November to an audience of over 2,000 users and prospective users.

The team didn’t stop there – in 2018, DataRobot could be found at 182 industry events throughout the world. We also produced 27 educational webinars! (We recorded them all if you want to take a listen – here.)

Our Favorite Predictions

This year, DataRobot’s data scientists not only worked with companies throughout the world to make better, more accurate predictions, they also made a few lighthearted predictions for the DataRobot blog. We wrote 116 blog posts in 2018 and here are a few of our favorite predictions:

• The Lord of Light…GBM? Using an Algorithm to Predict Dead in “Game of Thrones”

• Using Automated Machine Learning to Predict NBA Player Performance

• Understanding Song Popularity with Automated Machine Learning

Looking Ahead to 2019

Writing this blog has given me the chance to reflect on all the accomplishments above, as well as all the things I didn’t have the space to cover, such as our incredible employee growth and market visibility. But, the most impressive accomplishments are what our customers have been able to achieve. DataRobot has helped hundreds of companies become AI-driven through a combination of making data scientists more productive and empowering legions of non-data scientists with the ability to build machine learning models.

In 2019, we will launch an online community, run our first user conference and add Singapore, Sydney, Madrid, Munich and Sao Paulo to the roster of cities for the AI Experience. I am also very excited about our relationships with UiPath and Automation Anywhere. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is now hitting a mainstream market and with DataRobot providing machine learning intelligence, new heights in automation will be achieved.

We recently announced that we raised $100 million in Series D funding, bringing our total funding to $225 million. In 2019, you’ll be hearing much more about how we’re using this money to help customers solve their data science initiatives through automation, expand our product portfolio, and scale our global operations. We anticipate another year of tremendous employee growth so if you’d like to join us, check out the available positions we have in all departments across the company.

As we wrap up 2018, on behalf of all DataRobot employees worldwide, we thank you for being a part of DataRobot’s success!

About the author

Tim Young

General Manager APAC, DataRobot

He has over 25 years of experience marketing high-tech enterprise products in the data management, analytics, and SaaS spaces. He has run marketing operations for global companies including IBM, Oracle, Netezza, and Workday. Tim brings a practical global perspective to DataRobot having managed marketing teams in Australia, Asia, U.K., Europe, and the U.S.

Meet Tim Young