Workday launches venture fund to invest in data science startups
Workday is betting that the next 10 years will be about data science for the enterprise and is playing the venture capital game accordingly. — Workday on Tuesday said it will launch a venture fund focused on data science and machine learning for enterprise use.
Context & Ripple Effects
In mid-2015, Workday framed its future in data science rather than transactions: a venture fund aimed at machine learning startups built for enterprise use, giving it a scouting position on the technology before committing to build or buy. The bet paid off quickly — within a year Workday moved from investing to acquiring, picking up big-data specialist Platfora to strengthen its cloud financial applications.
First-order effects
- Early-stage data science and ML startups gain a strategic investor whose product suite can serve as distribution into enterprise HR and finance buyers.
- Workday gets first-look deal flow on enterprise ML technology, converting small equity stakes into potential acquisitions like the later Platfora buy.
Second-order effects
- Rival SAP answered the same demand through balance-sheet M&A rather than a fund, moving to acquire Dremio and Prior Labs alongside a pledge to invest €1B over four years in what it calls a frontier AI lab — competing vendors are now choosing between seeding and buying their data/AI stacks.
Third-order effects
- A decade on, the pattern holds up in results: Workday's Q1 beat and raised full-year forecast were credited to its AI strategy, suggesting corporate venture arms have become the standard pipeline through which enterprise software vendors absorb ML capability into their core products.
The trend: Enterprise software vendors are using strategic venture capital and follow-on acquisitions to embed machine learning directly into their core application suites.