Company Announcement: Treasure Data officially part of Softbank Vision Fund 2; Welcome Back Founding Leadership Team
Last updated July 13, 2021We are thrilled to announce that Treasure Data is now officially part of Softbank Vision Fund 2! As previously communicated, Treasure Data was on track to separate from Arm to operate as an independent company. This process was completed on June 25, 2021 and we are now part of SoftBank Vision Fund 2’s portfolio, with funding and support to continue our rapid growth in the fast-moving Customer Data Platform (CDP) market. Since inception, Treasure Data has been a customer-driven company and we remain committed to their success and delivering a market-leading CDP.
Companies are embracing digital transformation with an urgency accelerated by the global pandemic and intensifying competitive pressure to deliver ever more enriched digital experiences for customers. Brands need to use every bit of data to delight their customers and they’re turning to CDPs as a foundational technology to underpin these important initiatives. To keep up with the rapid growth and market demand, we are also excited to announce the return of some of our founding leaders – Kazuki Ota, Hironobu Yoshikawa and Dan Weirich.
First, Kazuki (Kaz) Ota will be our CEO, succeeding Pankaj Tibrewal. Kaz was the founding Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Treasure Data. Prior to that, he co-founded the world’s largest Hadoop User Group in 2009. A long time open source advocate, he has made numerous contributions to open source software and was instrumental in developing the open source applications Fluentd, Embulk and Messagepack. Building from Pankaj’s incredible leadership, Kaz will be in charge of the day-to-day business and product strategy.
We’re also pleased to share that Hironobu (Hiro) Yoshikawa will be rejoining Treasure Data as Executive Chairman. Hiro was the founding CEO at Treasure Data. Hiro is an open source software business veteran who began his career at Red Hat as an engineer and later transitioned to business development and product marketing. Prior to starting Treasure Data, Hiro worked at Mitsui Ventures, where he led several key software investments for the firm. Hiro will work closely with Kaz on the overall business strategy.
Finally, Dan Weirich is rejoining as Chief Financial Officer/Chief Operating Officer. Dan served as the company’s CFO from 2014-2018. Prior to Treasure Data, Dan worked at 8×8 for 10 years where he served as President and CFO. Dan will work on day-to-day business and financial operations.
Data is the foundation for all that we do at Treasure Data, and understanding data in a meaningful way to serve customers with relevance. Kaz, Hiro and Dan are visionaries with deep knowledge of the complexities enterprises manage as they leverage ever-growing amounts of data to drive broad business outcomes. With a tremendous amount of experience growing SaaS-based companies and support from the SoftBank ecosystem of technology champions, our team is well positioned to take Treasure Data to the next phase.
*As of the date of this announcement, SoftBank Group Corp. has made capital contributions to allow investments by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 (“SVF 2”) in certain portfolio companies. The information included herein is made for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy limited partnership interests in any fund, including SVF 2. SVF 2 has yet to have an external close, and any potential third-party investors shall receive additional information related to any SVF 2 investments prior to closing.