Alation is acquiring Numbers Station, a startup that builds AI agents for data workflows, to give its data intelligence platform rocket boosters. The deal is meant to help companies build and roll out AI-driven analytics tools that can work automatically, while still following proper business rules and keeping everything in context.
Numbers Station is a Series A startup that has raised over $17 million with the help of investors like Norwest Venture Partners, Madrona, and Factory. The acquisition terms weren’t disclosed, but the idea is to help data and engineering teams quickly build advanced AI analytics tools that can work on their own while still following company policies.
Solving the data access challenge
Since ChatGPT launched back in 2022, developers have been trying to apply AI to address data challenges. It hasn’t historically gone great, as it’s difficult to give AI systems the right data access they need. When they do get access, they often can’t make sense of it properly.
AI agents have trouble understanding corporate data like financial transactions and customer records because the data definitions are incomplete, governance policies are unclear, and there’s missing context about where the data comes from and how good it actually is. This usually results in AI agents spitting out wrong answers or straight up breaking privacy and compliance rules.
Alation’s acquisition of Numbers Station is meant to fix these problems by bringing in AI agent technology that can actually work well with structured data on their platform.
“Numbers Station has proven the impact AI agents can have in the enterprise when companies are able to trust this new way of working and brings an exceptional team that shares our obsession with empowering data users,” said Satyen Sangani, co-founder and CEO of Alation. “Together, we’re laying the foundation for the next decade of enterprise data intelligence — one where humans and agents collaborate seamlessly to turn data into action.”
Numbers Station CEO Chris Aberger adds that Numbers Station has always wanted to make it possible for anyone to build data applications.
“By joining forces with Alation, we’re pairing our AI-native foundation with the most trusted enterprise data intelligence platform,” says Aberger. “This unlocks a future where agents don’t just find data — they do more with it.”
What this means for the channel
Companies across the board are getting serious about making AI actually work with their real business data. For channel partners and solution providers, this means there’s going to be huge demand for helping enterprises figure out how to properly integrate AI agents that can handle their data workflows without breaking compliance rules or producing garbage results.
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