Zendata raises $2M to redefine AI governance and data privacy with no-code platform

Zendata, a San Francisco-based startup, quietly announced this week its emergence from stealth mode with a $2 million seed funding round led by PayPal Ventures, First-hand Alliance, Geek Ventures, and Altari Ventures. The company aims to revolutionize how organizations manage data security, AI governance, and privacy across the entire data lifecycle.

Founded by industry veterans Narayana Pappu and Pedro Pinango, Zendata’s no-code platform provides comprehensive insights and control over data usage, enabling businesses to make informed decisions and remain compliant with evolving data privacy and AI governance regulations.

Addressing context, data flow, and awareness: The Zendata approach to AI and data privacy

In an interview with VentureBeat, CEO Narayana Pappu highlighted the unique aspects of Zendata’s platform. “AI governance and data privacy problems in the broadest sense: Context (how information is being used), Data flow (who is it being shared with — first/third party), Awareness — how does it align with internal policies or agreements. Zendata addresses these across client side, application, and model layers,” Pappu explained.

The platform’s controls protect sensitive data and mitigate risks by helping organizations understand if they are oversharing information with third parties, validating data used to build models, and ensuring data is transmitted and logged to secure, approved locations.

No-code platform offers rapid implementation and continuous compliance for businesses

Zendata’s no-code approach offers rapid implementation, democratized access, continuous compliance, scalability, and centralized control. “Implementing a data risk management program takes anywhere between 6-8 months. Zendata’s no-code platform enables businesses to quickly adapt to evolving regulations, reduce reliance on engineering resources, and efficiently manage data risks across the organization,” said Pappu.

The company has already secured early customer successes, including securing public-facing surfaces of companies globally and managing privacy risks of models. Zendata’s platform has received positive reviews on G2, a leading software review platform.

Bridging the gap between engineering and policy organizations in the era of AI adoption

With the convergence of CIO, CISO, and CDO roles in the era of AI adoption, Zendata aims to bridge the gap between engineering organizations (data creators) and policy organizations (data managers). The seed funding will be used to develop the platform’s remediation capabilities and build integrations with Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) solutions and existing platforms.

Zendata’s participation in Race Capital’s highly selective Topline program, known for backing companies like Databricks, is expected to open up new avenues for growth and future funding.

As data breaches become more common and cybercriminals exploit vulnerabilities in systems and networks, Zendata’s solution is poised to address the growing market need for effective AI and data risk management. With a long-term vision to enable transparent and equitable collection and use of consumer data, Zendata aims to create a virtuous data trust cycle.