Ex-Scale AI CTO launches Isotopes with $20M to tackle enterprise data challenges

Backed by NTTVC and led by Hadoop-era veterans, Isotopes’ Aidnn agent lets business leaders query data in natural language, providing contextual answers, reports, and planning documents from sources like Salesforce, Snowflake, ERPs, CRMs, and cloud platforms

A new player in enterprise AI, Isotopes AI, has launched from stealth mode, announcing a $20 million seed funding round aimed at solving a long-standing business challenge: bridging the gap between complex data systems and the decision-makers who need insights from them.

Backed by NTTVC and led by tech veterans from the Hadoop era, Isotopes has developed an intelligent agent named Aidnn that enables business leaders to query their data using natural language. Instead of relying on data engineers or analysts, users can ask questions directly and receive contextual answers, reports, and even planning documents, no matter where the data resides — whether in Salesforce, Snowflake, ERPs, CRMs, or cloud platforms.

Built by big data veterans

At the core of Isotopes AI is a team with deep roots in data infrastructure. CEO Arun Murthy was a co-creator of Hadoop during his time at Yahoo and later co-founded Hortonworks, a key player in the early Big Data movement. Hortonworks went public in 2014 before merging with Cloudera, a transition Murthy witnessed firsthand while leading large teams.

Murthy recalls the irony of leading a data company where executives still struggled to access timely insights. “Even on earnings calls, we couldn’t answer basic questions because the data wasn’t easily accessible,” he said.

After leaving Cloudera in 2021 and a brief stint as CTO at Scale AI, Murthy reunited with former colleagues Prasanth Jayachandran and Gopal Vijayaraghavan to launch Isotopes in late 2024.

Aidnn: More than just a chatbot

What sets Aidnn apart is its ability to handle multi-step data workflows autonomously. It doesn’t just search for information — it cleans, joins, and transforms data to generate complex outputs like revenue reports or forecasts. Aidnn also provides transparency, explaining its process, assumptions, and any anomalies it detects.

Enterprise clients are promised full data control, as Aidnn operates without sharing sensitive information with external AI model providers — a key differentiator amid rising concerns around data privacy.

Despite a crowded market filled with rivals like Salesforce’s Tableau and other AI-native startups, Isotopes believes its deep technical foundation and enterprise-first approach will give it an edge in redefining how businesses interact with data.