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DataGravity falls to Earth, cuts exec post, lays off staff

Sucked down into the well of misery

DataGravity has laid off the director of DataGravity Labs and other staff, and is the fourth storage startup to lay off staff this month.

Its Discovery Series arrays are said to be data-aware and combine primary storage, data protection, data governance, search and discovery functions into an integrated appliance.

It “analyses data as it is ingested without impacting performance, so administrators and users can quickly and easily explore and use data more effectively to derive insights that increase productivity, efficiency and organisational success.”

Basically it has developed a clever dual-controller array that relies on software smarts to better manage the data it stores.

The company is a well-funded startup:

  • 2012 - founded by Paula Long and John Joseph, and $12m A-round
  • 2013 - $30m B-round
  • Dec 2014 - $50m C-round led by Accel Partners with previous investors Andreessen Horowitz, CRV and General Catalyst Partners
  • Feb 2016 - Data Gravity’s total funding is $92m

Paula Long co-founded and ran array-maker EqualLogic which Dell bought for $1.6bn in 2007.

Michael White was the director of DataGravity Labs, where he worked “with our alliance and solution marketing teams validating our partner ecosystem integrations, developing best practice guides, and working with the Office of CTO on research and development initiatives to keep DataGravity in the driver’s seat of being on the forefront of emerging technology and in a thought leadership position.”

His LinkedIn profile summary now reads: “I have just today finished working with DataGravity. It is a great bunch of people, and I loved working there. I am sorry I was not able to stay longer. Not sure what is next!”

In a February 6 blog post he says that he has been laid off, adding: “Many of us are gone now. I feel very bad about this particular situation as I believe very strongly in DataGravity. So I hope that this RIF is what they need to really move forward. I will continue to cheer for them from the sidelines.”

David Siles is DataGravity’s CTO and so his part of the organisation has been trimmed.

This RIF episode news at DataGravity comes hard on the heels of headcount reductions at Panasas, Tegile and Atlantis, all storage startups laying off staff this month.

Our reading of the situation is that Data Gravity is cutting its cash burn rate as its VCs steel themselves for a longer wait before they can envisage a profitable exit from the company. We have asked Data Gravity for a comment and will update you when one comes in. ®

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