Tableau acquires natural language query startup ClearGraph

 

Singapore, August
11, 2017 – Tableau Software
(NYSE: DATA) today announced it has acquired ClearGraph, a cutting edge Palo
Alto startup that enables smart data discovery and data analysis through
natural language query technology. Tableau plans to integrate ClearGraph’s
technology into Tableau’s products, making it even easier for more people to
interact with their data by using natural language to ask questions and search
for insights.

“We are thrilled to bring the ClearGraph team to Tableau to enable people to ask
questions of their data using natural language,” said Francois Ajenstat, Chief
Product Officer at Tableau. “Natural language queries will make it easier for
more people to interact with Tableau, whether you’re an executive who needs an
answer quickly, or on a mobile phone and want an answer from your data on the
move. We’re excited about this acquisition as the ClearGraph team shares our
mission and is aligned with our innovation perspectives on conversational
analytics.”ClearGraph makes it easy to analyze data using
natural language. It brings a consumer-like experience to users by connecting
disparate data sources and making them accessible and intelligible through
simple conversational style search. ClearGraph’s unique natural language query
technology stores semantic data in knowledge graphs that can expand and learn
over time. Accessing and analyzing data using ClearGraph requires no technical
training, as the system can infer users’ intent through natural language. For
example, people could ask questions such as, “Total sales by customers who
purchased staples in New York,” then filter to, “orders in the last 30 days,”
then group by, “project owner’s department.”

“We founded ClearGraph because we saw a need to
bridge the gap between humans and computers through natural language,
especially when it comes to exploring data,” said Andrew Vigneault, CEO of
ClearGraph. “Tableau is a natural fit for us because we have similar missions,
cultures and genuine desire to help more people around the world access,
interact with and get answers from their data.”

ClearGraph was founded in 2014 by Andrew
Vigneault and Ryan Atallah. The team recruited Stanford PhD graduate Alex
Djalali, who specializes in computational linguistics, to develop the product
along with several other engineers. ClearGraph is used by dozens of customers,
including large enterprises. As part of the acquisition, employees will join
Tableau in its Palo Alto office. The team will be focused on integrating
ClearGraph’s underlying technology into Tableau products.

About Tableau Software
Tableau (NYSE: DATA) helps people see and understand data. Tableau helps anyone
quickly analyze, visualize and share information. More than 61,000 customer
accounts get rapid results with Tableau in the office and on-the-go. Over
300,000 people use Tableau Public to share public data in their blogs and
websites. See how Tableau can help you by downloading the free trial at www.tableau.com/trial.

Tableau and Tableau Software are trademarks of Tableau Software, Inc. All
other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies
with which they are associated.

Forward-Looking
Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and
uncertainties, including statements regarding Tableau’s proposed product
offerings, future product capabilities and investments in product development.
There are a significant number of factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from statements made in this press release, including
challenges integrating ClearGraph technology and personnel; difficulties
encountered in developing new products or modifying existing products, and the
timing and degree to which such products gain market acceptance; and the
competitive environment in the software industry and competitive responses to
this technology acquisition. These and other important risk factors are
included in documents filed with the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission,
including Tableau’s most recently filed Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, Annual
Report on Form 10-K, and other reports and filings with the SEC and could cause
actual results to vary from expectations. Tableau does not assume any obligation
to update the forward-looking statements provided to reflect events that occur
or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made.