SDF Labs, a Seattle startup, has announced the public availability of its product aimed at helping software developers manage enterprise data warehouse systems. The company has also revealed $9 million in seed funding. SDF, which stands for Semantic Data Fabric, has developed a SQL compiler and database engine that analyzes SQL code to provide information about how data is being moved across warehouses, identifying potential errors or bugs in the process. The goal is to provide developers with faster feedback while writing data models, ultimately improving developer productivity, cost optimization, data governance, and data provenance for AI models.
The software offered by SDF runs on local machines, eliminating the need for cloud-based compiler tools. By extracting SQL compilers from the cloud and making them available on laptops, SDF is aiming to power the next generation of data developer tooling. The company has already secured paying customers at various companies, including ClassDojo, Obie, and Linqto. Lukas Schulte, the CEO and co-founder of SDF Labs, emphasizes the importance of understanding how data moves through a system for a range of purposes, noting his past experience leading engineering at PiñataFarms, a consumer creative video tools startup.
SDF Labs was co-founded by Lukas Schulte, his father Wolfram Schulte, Michael Levin, and Elias DeFaria. Wolfram Schulte, with more than 17 years of experience at Microsoft and as a principal architect at Meta, brings his expertise in data warehouse infrastructure to the team. Michael Levin has also worked at Microsoft and Meta, while Elias DeFaria, a founding engineer at PiñataFarms who has previously co-founded a music streaming platform, rounds out the co-founding team. The company’s investors include Seattle-based Founders’ Co-op, RTP Global, Two Sigma Ventures, Sequoia, and Andreessen Horowitz.
Aviel Ginzburg, a general partner at Founders’ Co-op, describes SDF as the “antidote to a data world that has lost its mind,” praising the company’s vision for simplifying data complexity without requiring a change in how people think about data. Ginzburg acknowledges the challenge of data management across various portfolios and expresses confidence in SDF’s ability to provide effective results. SDF Labs currently employs 15 people, with about half of the team based at its downtown Seattle headquarters.
Overall, SDF Labs aims to provide developers with a toolset for managing enterprise data warehouse systems effectively. By analyzing SQL code and providing feedback on how data moves across warehouses, the company hopes to eliminate errors and improve data management, governance, and AI model training. With a strong team of experienced co-founders and investors, SDF Labs is poised to make a significant impact in the data management space, offering a user-friendly solution that simplifies complex data processes.
