Rubrik acquires Datos IO to expand into NoSQL database management support

Rubrik, the enterprise startup that provides data backup and recovery services across cloud and on-premise environments, is putting some of the funding that it raised last year at a $1.3 billion valuation to use. Rubrik has acquired NoSQL data backup specialist Datos IO, the company announced today, in what appears to be Rubrik’s first acquisition.

The financial terms of the deal are not being disclosed (we’re asking) but according to PitchBook it looks like Datos IO would have been valued at least $45 million after its last round in May 2017 (pre-money valuation of $40.5 million, with its final round valued at $4.6 million).

Rubrik says that Datos IO will continue to be led by its co-founder and CEO Tarun Thakur, and it will exist as a new business unit called Rubrik Datos IO.

Like Rubrik, Datos IO is a specialist in backup and recovery, but with a specific focus on NoSQL databases such as MongoDB, Cassandra, Couchbase and Amazon DynamoDB, and other big data file systems like Cloudera and Hortonworks by way of its flagship product RecoverX. These are increasingly getting adopted by large, Fortune 500-type organizations — and Datos IO has become a significant player, counting three of the Fortune 15 companies and the world’s largest home improvement retailer among its customers. As such, Rubrik is buying Datos IO to help expand its business in that sector.

“As enterprises adopt NoSQL cloud databases to undertake digital transformation and AI initiatives, the need to manage and recover applications and data is becoming top of mind,” said Bipul Sinha, Rubrik’s co-founder and CEO, in a statement. “We are excited to have Datos IO join the Rubrik family to accelerate innovation in how enterprises manage and recover this modern application stack.”

Interestingly, when Rubrik raised its large round of funding in April last year, Sinha said that it was unlikely that he and the startup would be making any acquisitions as a result.

“This is not our focus,” he said when I asked about buying smaller fish to expand the product offering. “We believe in innovation and are still a young company and want to continue the pace of acceleration.”

However, when you consider Rubrik’s roots — essentially playing in that gap between large companies’ existing, legacy on-premise data and workloads, and their newer cloud-based services, providing a backup for everything by way of an on-premise appliance — it’s notable that the company is buying Datos IO. It represents a leap forward for Rubrik as it looks to take on more “new” deployments, if not altogether young businesses.

“We founded Datos IO with a vision of building a next-generation data management platform for cloud-native data sources to ensure elasticity, orchestration and data mobility,” said Tarun Thakur, Co-Founder and CEO, Datos IO, in a statement. “Datos IO delivers critical backup and recovery capabilities for cloud-native applications and databases. Rubrik and Datos IO share a common vision of cloud data management and are committed to helping customers on their digital transformation journey.”

In other words, with more and more going into the cloud, Rubrik had to follow. Examples of functions and services that are covered in Datos IO’s recovery and backup services include Internet of Things deployments, artificial intelligence/machine learning platforms, real-time analytics, eCommerce, security services and mobile analytics.

Another point in common is that the two companies happen to share an investor, Lightspeed Venture Partners, where Sinha has also worked as a venture partner for years. It’s not clear how much of a role Lightspeed played in making the connection here (we are asking about this too).

In any case, Datos IO had caught the attention of a number of other strategic players, with both Cisco and NetApp investing the company’s venture round in May 2017. Other investors include True Ventures, CF, Engineering Capital and Semil Shah.

Rubrik itself has raised around $292 million to date, with investors including IVP, Greylock, Khosla and Kevin Durant (yes, that Kevin Durant).