Predictive AI startup Kumo has been named to Fast Company’s fifth annual Next Big Things in Tech list, joining 137 honorees alongside tech giants such as Google, GitHub, and Snap. Recognized in the Foundational AI category, Kumo is lauded for advancing core AI technologies that underpin the next generation of intelligent systems.
Bringing Relational Databases Into the AI Era
Kumo’s breakthrough lies in transforming how enterprises generate predictions from relational data, the backbone of business operations like customer records, transactions, and supply chain information. Historically, extracting insights from relational databases relied on decades-old machine learning methods.
Enter KumoRFM, the first foundation model purpose-built for relational data. By connecting enterprise databases directly to KumoRFM, users can produce predictions for outcomes like fraud detection and customer churn in seconds. Compared with traditional approaches, the model delivers up to 20× faster time to value and 30–50% higher accuracy, giving companies actionable insights faster than ever.
Proven Enterprise Impact
“We are honored to be recognized by Fast Company for being one of the most significant players in foundational AI,” said Dr. Vanja Josifovski, CEO and Founder of Kumo. “Enterprises including Databricks, Snowflake, Reddit, and DoorDash have leveraged KumoRFM, demonstrating the untapped value within relational data.”
A Leadership Team with Deep AI Roots
Founded by Dr. Vanja Josifovski, Dr. Jure Leskovec, and Dr. Hema Raghavan, Kumo brings together expertise from LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Airbnb, where the founders helped build AI systems powering some of the world’s most influential platforms. With $37 million in funding and a focus on enterprise-scale predictive AI, Kumo is poised to transform how businesses operationalize data-driven insights.
“Next Big Things in Tech is both a snapshot of the most interesting tech of the moment and a crystal ball predicting the next several years,” said Brendan Vaughan, Fast Company editor-in-chief. “We congratulate Kumo for its vision and innovation in foundational AI.”
By bridging the gap between enterprise data and actionable intelligence, Kumo demonstrates that AI applied to traditional relational databases is no longer a niche capability—it’s the future of operational insight.
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