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Digital transformation is essential for modern businesses, but it has also made the Chief Information Officer’s (CIO) job incredibly difficult. They now have to manage scattered data, numerous SaaS applications, untracked purchases and expenses, making it hard to pinpoint usage.
In this complicated landscape, CIOs are often caught off guard. As Sundari Mitra, CEO and co-founder of startup Asato, explains, CIOs suddenly find themselves responsible for assets they weren’t previously managing.
Mitra’s company aims to address this issue with the launch of an innovative AI-powered tool designed specifically for CIOs. This platform discovers, connects, and contextualizes apps and data across an organization to provide valuable insights and track progress.
The startup is debuting with a $7.5 million seed funding round led by Walden Catalyst Ventures’ Lip-Bu Tan, with participation from Intel Capital, Shah Capital Partners, and several angel investors.
The name “Asato” carries multiple meanings across different languages: in Japanese, it means “dawn or new beginning;” in Italian, it signifies “connecting all the assets together;” in Sanskrit, it symbolizes “shedding light, moving from darkness to light,” as Mitra explains. The goal of Asato is to make the CIO a superhero.
Despite the cloud being touted as a cost-saving measure, from 2016 to 2022, the number of applications used by enterprises skyrocketed, growing 11 times from an average of eight apps to 130. This period focused heavily on growth, often neglecting profitability. As a result, companies have accumulated technical debt and an extensive array of unwieldy assets. CIOs, who are now often responsible for SaaS and other apps initially purchased by different departments, face significant cybersecurity challenges without proper visibility to identify gaps and vulnerabilities.
The hope was that moving to the cloud would reduce costs, but the reality is quite the opposite. CIOs struggle to manage the hybrid compute environments effectively. They tend to focus on the highest-expense tools like Salesforce or Oracle, leading to constant turnover and budget pressures among CIOs of large companies.
David Johnson, managing director at Intel Capital, acknowledges the unprecedented challenges CIOs face amidst the surge in IT complexities such as cloud computing, diverse applications, and IoT solutions.
Asato’s platform integrates into the existing tech stack and utilizes AI and knowledge graphs to automate the search, linking, contextualization, and analysis of IT assets, orchestrating decisions and tracking results. It features generative AI to close feedback loops, allowing learning and outcome tracking. This technology stems from Mitra’s previous company, NetSpeed Systems, which specialized in system-on-chip (SoC) design tools. Acquired by Intel in 2018, NetSpeed’s team created a knowledge graph to understand chip traffic flow, forming the basis for Asato’s platform.
The platform allows CIOs to query its ChatGPT interface for insights, such as which apps are up for renewal or underutilized, helping to manage renewals and optimize costs. The ability to track decisions and outcomes contributes to deeper insights. While there are existing tools that perform specific functions, Asato’s platform combines FinOps, SaaS management, and analytics to provide a comprehensive solution.
By surfacing critical information, dependencies, and usage patterns, Asato’s platform empowers CIOs to navigate and optimize the complexities of their IT infrastructure. In dynamic environments where adaptability and efficiency are crucial, Asato enhances CIOs’ effectiveness in managing intricate infrastructures.
The idea for Asato arose from Mitra’s experiences at large organizations. During her tenure at Intel, she managed extensive teams and dealt with data from various sources, facing challenges in making quick decisions and tracking outcomes. Mitra and cofounder Anush Mohandass recognized the complexity in managing both system-on-chip products and enterprise IT. This firsthand experience informed Asato’s development, bringing a unique set of skills and expertise to address CIOs’ challenges.
Asato is a game changer for CIOs. By leveraging AI, it offers a distinctive approach to managing and contextualizing IT assets and users within an enterprise. Initially focused on the CIO role, the platform’s scalability allows for expansion to other roles, enabling the company to grow further.
Unlike startups that create novel technology first and then find its application, Asato identified the CIO’s visibility challenge and built technology to resolve it. Ultimately, a CIO succeeds by running IT operations efficiently and saving money.