Empirik launches with $21M to predict and prevent tech outages

In short: Empirik has spun out of Sequoia Capital with $21 million in seed funding to help companies spot risky system changes before they cause outages.

What happened

Empirik is a new company built to prevent tech outages, which are times when online services stop working. It started inside Sequoia Capital, a major investment firm, and is now becoming an independent startup.

The company was created by Avon Puri and Sudheer Dhurjati, who previously led internal IT work at Sequoia. Their idea is to use AI to watch changes across a company’s IT infrastructure, meaning the behind-the-scenes computers, networks, and software that keep apps and websites running.

Empirik says it tracks what is changing and estimates how those changes could affect other connected parts of a system. Sequoia partner Bogomil Balkansky described it like an automated “traffic cop,” letting low-risk updates go through, putting limits on bigger updates, and flagging the riskiest ones for a person to review.

Empirik raised $21 million from Sequoia, Canapi, and Alumni Ventures. Sequoia also brought in Kartik Chandrayana, previously a product leader at Quantum Metric and Salesforce, as CEO. The company says it already has customers, including S&P Global and Guardant Health.

Why it matters

Outages can stop people from sending email, paying for things online, or using workplace tools. As companies make more frequent software updates, the risk of something breaking goes up. Tools like Empirik aim to catch problems earlier, like noticing a loose wire before the lights go out.

Source: TechCrunch AI