PuppyGraph Raises $5 Million in Seed Funding Led by Defy.vc to Bring Zero-ETL GraphRAG and Real-Time Graph Analytics To Market

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 7, 2024--

PuppyGraph, the first and only graph query engine, announced today its $5 million seed funding round led by defy.vc. The zero-ETL unlocks real-time graph analytics for enterprises. This power translates into significant industry benefits, from generating GraphRAG to enhance LLM accuracy and reduce hallucinations, to real-time fraud detection and robust cybersecurity analyses. It also revolutionizes logistics for retail and supply chains and transforms healthcare outcomes by efficiently revealing deep insights from extensive biological and patient data relationships.

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Traditional SQL operations struggle with complex, interconnected data, often becoming cumbersome and verbose. Graph query languages excel at modeling intricate traversal queries across dense data networks but are typically tied to systems that couple the query and storage layers, complicating scalability, adoption, and maintenance.

Being the first graph query engine, PuppyGraph brings a new paradigm shift where now users can query a single copy of data in both SQL and graph at the same time. For individuals familiar with SQL and venturing into graph analytics for the first time, PuppyGraph simplifies the process of data preparation, aggregation, and management by utilizing the data lake and tools they are already comfortable with. This design allows users to bypass the complexities of graph query languages for regular tasks, reserving these languages solely for specific graph-related inquiries like graph traversals. By streamlining these processes, PuppyGraph not only significantly reduces the learning curve but also boosts operational efficiency. This allows enterprises to continue using their SQL data stores while benefiting from graph-specific capabilities like complex pattern matching and efficient pathfinding.

PuppyGraph integrates effortlessly with widely-used data lakes and warehouses, including Apache Iceberg, Delta Lake, Apache Hudi, DuckDB, Databricks, Snowflake, AWS Redshift, BigQuery, CelerData, Hive, SingleStore, MySQL, and PostgreSQL, among others.

While the native graph storage systems can take months to set up due to building complex data replication process, PuppyGraph goes from deployment to query in just 10 minutes, handles petabyte-scale data with ultra-low latency, executing 10-hop neighbor queries across half a billion edges in just 2.26 seconds.

Since its launch in March 2024, PuppyGraph has quickly gained traction and is now in production within industry leaders such as Coinbase, Clarivate, Dawn Capital and numerous enterprises. Prevalent AI, an ISTARI Collective member and a Cyber Security leader, is integrating its Security Data Fabric offering used by large enterprises with PuppyGraph. Significant product advancements have also been made, including adding support for major data sources like Unity Catalog, SingleStore, Vertica, and IBM watsonx.data.

PuppyGraph's growth is evidenced by a 70% month-over-month increase in downloads of its forever-free developer edition. In addition, PuppyGraph has formed strategic partnerships with Google Cloud (BigQuery & AlloyDB) and has become Databricks' first graph analytics partner for Unity Catalog further positioning PuppyGraph as the industry leading graph analytics innovator.

PuppyGraph was co-founded by Weimo Liu, a Computer Science Ph.D graduate from George Washington University, leveraging his experience from Google's F1 team and TigerGraph, alongside Danfeng Xu, a nine-year veteran of LinkedIn's infrastructure team, and Lei Huang, a three-time Google Code Jam world finalist. Zhenni Wu, an experienced go-to-market veteran from the graph database sector, also joined the founding team. To bolster their expertise, Gary Hagmueller, former CEO of Dgraph and Arcion (recently acquired by Databricks as its third largest acquisition to date), has come on board as an active advisor.

As lakehouse architecture matures, enabling enterprises to aggregate all their data in one place, the potential to extract meaningful insights from this unified data is just beginning. Graph technology stands as the cornerstone of AI-driven architectures, offering unparalleled prowess in discerning intricate relationships within data. Traditional RAG systems struggle with fragmented data, often missing critical relationships and yielding disconnected results. PuppyGraph's innovative GraphRAG framework addresses these challenges by integrating a 'Knowledge Graph' that understands and utilizes the structure and connections within data, significantly enhancing the contextual understanding and navigational capabilities of LLMs. PuppyGraph’s Agentic GraphRAG, a pioneering development in the industry, simplifies the creation of large-scale knowledge graphs with zero ETL, enabling rapid deployment to query in under 10 minutes and supports both Gremlin and Cypher query languages to tailor precision and optimize performance. With the ability to handle petabyte-scale data with ultra-low latency, PuppyGraph can pinpoint even the most hidden insights in vast datasets.

Eric Sun, Sr. Manager of Data Platform at Coinbase, highlighted the impact of PuppyGraph at the Data+AI Summit 2024: "PuppyGraph is a very interesting graph query engine. It doesn't require us to load or ETL any data into a specialized or proprietary database storage layer for graphs. We can simply query everything directly on our data lake—whether it’s Delta, Iceberg, or just plain Parquet files. PuppyGraph can integrate this data into a graph model and another distributed computation engine to render all the results. We use it in conjunction with Unity Catalog to unlock all our transactional and crypto data already on our Delta Lake. PuppyGraph then queries this data directly to perform all sorts of graph-based exploration and aggregation. This capability is so powerful, and our users really enjoy this level of flexibility."

"We are thrilled to partner with defy.vc on this journey to revolutionize graph analytics," said Weimo Liu, CEO of PuppyGraph. "This funding will accelerate our product development, expand our team, and increase our market presence, bringing our powerful graph query engine to more organizations worldwide."

Brian Rothenberg, Partner at defy.vc, commented, "PuppyGraph is changing the way companies approach graph analytics. We are excited to support this innovative team that is not only advancing graph technology but also making it universally accessible and easy to use. PuppyGraph’s approach will significantly accelerate the adoption of graph analytics across industries."

For more about how PuppyGraph is shaping the future of data analytics and to explore its unique capabilities, visit www.puppygraph.com.

About PuppyGraph

PuppyGraph is the first and only graph query engine in the market, empowering companies to transform existing relational data stores into a unified graph model in under 10 minutes, bypassing traditional graph databases' cost, latency, and maintenance hurdles. Capable of scaling with petabytes of data and executing complex 10-hop queries in seconds, PuppyGraph supports use cases from enhancing LLMs with knowledge graphs to fraud detection, cybersecurity and more. Trusted by industry leaders, including Coinbase, Clarivate, Alchemy Pay, and Protocol Labs. Learn more at www.puppygraph.com, and follow the company on LinkedIn, YouTube and X.

About defy.vc

Founded in 2016, defy.vc is a Silicon Valley based early stage venture capital firm. Defy was founded to invest in entrepreneurs and companies looking to solve complex problems. Defy's focus is to help early stage companies mature and scale into companies ready for growth capital. The firm's team has more than 50 years of venture experience, successful entrepreneurial and operating backgrounds, and actively helps founders grow companies from inception through exit. Connect with defy.vc at https://defy.vc/ and @defyvc.

PuppyGraph UI Dashboard (Graphic: Business Wire)

PuppyGraph Query UI (Graphic: Business Wire)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has named Susie Wiles, the defacto manager of his victorious campaign, as his White House chief of staff, the first woman to hold the influential role.

Wiles is widely credited within and outside Trump’s inner circle for running what was, by far, his most disciplined and well-executed campaign, and was seen as the leading contender for the position. She largely avoided the spotlight, even refusing to take the mic to speak as Trump celebrated his victory early Wednesday morning. She resisted the formal title of campaign manager, avoiding becoming a target, given Trump’s history of cycling through people in that role.

Wiles’ hire is Trump’s first major decision as president-elect and one that could be a defining test of his incoming administration, as he must quickly build the team that will help run the massive federal government. Wiles doesn’t bring much federal government experience to the role, but has a close relationship with the president-elect.

On the campaign, Wiles was able to do what few others have been able to: help control Trump’s impulses — not by chiding him or lecturing, but by earning his respect and showing him that he was better off when he followed her advice than flouting it.

Eight years ago, Trump tossed the careful planning of his transition team and instead hired a motley assortment of campaign aides, family members and Republican insiders who spent the better part of his first year in office engaged in infighting that dominated news coverage of the new administration. It was what many experts consider a foundational mistake that hamstrung a president who was new to Washington and government upon his swearing in.

Trump went through four chiefs of staff — including one who served in an acting capacity for a year — during his first administration, part of a record-setting personnel churn. Many top aides were cast out by Trump in his first term, who resented being made to feel managed or condescended to, while others got caught up in ideological spats within the factionalized West Wing.

Trump aides see hope that Wiles’ selection marks a sign that the president-elect is aiming to build a more cohesive team, though one that will almost certainly remain less conventional than his Democratic or Republican predecessors.

Trump, who promised in 2016 to hire “only the best now” has since repeatedly said that he believes the biggest mistake of his first term was hiring the wrong people. He was new to Washington then, he has said, and didn’t know any better. But now, Trump said, he knows the “best people” and those to avoid for roles in his administration.

“Susie is tough, smart, innovative, and is universally admired and respected. Susie will continue to work tirelessly to Make America Great Again," Trump said in a statement. "It is a well deserved honor to have Susie as the first-ever female Chief of Staff in United States history. I have no doubt that she will make our country proud.”

Successful chiefs of staff serve as the president’s confidant, help execute a president’s agenda and balance competing political and policy priorities. They also tend to serve as a gatekeeper, helping determine whom the president spends his time with and whom he speaks to — an effort Trump chafed under inside the White House.

The chief of staff is “absolutely critical to an effective White House,” said Chris Whipple, whose book “The Gatekeepers” details how the White House chief of staff role shapes and defines a presidency. “At the end of the day the most important thing is telling the president what he doesn’t want to hear."

“On the plus side, she’s shown that she can manage Trump, that she works with him and can sometimes tell him hard truths, and that’s really important," said Whipple. “On the minus side, she really has no White House experience and hasn’t really worked in Washington in 40 years. And that’s a real disadvantage.”

Wiles is a longtime Florida-based Republican strategist who ran Trump’s campaigns in the state in 2016 and 2020, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' successful bid for office in 2018. Before that, she ran Rick Scott’s 2010 campaign for Florida governor and briefly served as the manager of former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman’s 2012 presidential campaign.

Chris LaCivita, who along with Wiles served as a co-manager of the campaign, posted on X, “So Happy and proud of one of the fiercest and most loyal warriors i’ve ever had the pleasure of working with !!!”

Wiles was seen by Trump aides as someone who could guide his moods and impulses without necessarily restraining him. Trump often referenced Wiles on the campaign trail, publicly praising her leadership of what he said he was often told was his “best-run campaign.”

“She’s incredible. Incredible,” he said at a Milwaukee rally earlier this month,

At a rally in Pennsylvania where Trump made one of his last appearances before the election, he launched into a profane and conspiracy-laden speech. Wiles was spotted standing offstage and appearing to glare at him.

Later, at a rally in Pittsburgh, Trump seemed to acknowledge his adviser's’ efforts to keep him on message.

After complaining that men aren’t allowed to call a woman “beautiful” any longer, he asked if he could strike that word from the record. “I’m allowed to do that, aren’t I, Susan Wiles?” he mused.

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump brings Susie Wiles to the podium at an election night watch party Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

FILE - Trump co-campaign manager Susie Wiles is seen at Nashville International Airport as Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump arrives, July 27, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)