Qumulo
{{Short description|American data storage company}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Qumulo
| logo = Qumulo.svg
| type = Privately held company
| industry = Data storage
| foundation = {{start date and age|2012|03}}
| founders = {{unbulleted list|Peter Godman|Aaron Passey|Neal Fachan}}
| location_city = Seattle, Washington
| key_people = Douglas Gourlay (President and CEO)
Matt Frey (CFO)
Michelle Palleschi (COO)
Kiran Bhagdeshpur (CTO)
| products = Distributed file systems
| location_country = U.S.
| homepage = {{url|https://qumulo.com/}}
}}
Qumulo is an American data storage company based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 2012, it offers products and services to help other companies manage and curate large amounts of data.
Qumulo’s slogan self describes the company as “The world's most advanced file system – any data, any location, total control.”
As of March 2025, Qumulo maintains a team of 270+ employees across five continents and services clients across all major global markets.
History
Qumulo was founded in March 2012 by Neal Fachan, Peter Godman, and Aaron Passey. They all previously worked at Isilon, a storage platform that was acquired by EMC.{{Cite web|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/business/with-wind-at-their-backs-seattle-startups-ride-cloud-of-innovation/|title=With wind at their backs, Seattle startups ride cloud of innovation|date=2012-12-03|website=The Seattle Times|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-19}}{{Cite web|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/cio/2012/11/20/stealthy-qumulo-raises-24-5m-for-enterprise-data-storage/|title=Stealthy Qumulo Raises $24.5M for Enterprise Data Storage|last=Gage|first=Deborah|date=2012-11-20|website=WSJ|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-19}} Several of Qumulo's key employees are also former Isilon employees.{{Cite web|url=https://www.geekwire.com/2015/stealthy-enterprise-data-storage-startup-qumulo-raises-40m-adds-isilon-founder-board/|title=Stealthy enterprise data storage startup Qumulo raises $40M, adds Isilon founder to board|date=2015-02-04|website=GeekWire|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-19}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/DJFVW00120150204eb24av2bx|title=Qumulo Packs Up $40M for Intelligent Storage|last=Gage|first=Deborah|date=2015-02-04|work=Wall Street Journal|access-date=2019-06-19|language=en-US|issn=0099-9660}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/02/04/enough_with_digital_dumpsters_isilon_reinvented/|title=Isilon brains trust flock to data-tastic upstart Qumulo|last=Mellor|first=Chris|date=4 Feb 2015|website=www.theregister.co.uk|language=en|access-date=2019-06-19}}
The company received $2.3-million seed funding from investment company Valhalla Partners.{{Cite web|url=https://www.geekwire.com/2016/qumulo-raises-cash/|title=Enterprise data storage startup Qumulo raising more cash|date=2016-06-01|website=GeekWire|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-19}}{{Cite web|url=http://blogs.seattletimes.com/brierdudley/2012/11/20/post_60/|title=Storage startup Qumulo raises $24.5 million|last=Dudley|first=Brier|website=The Seattle Times|access-date=2019-06-19}} In November 2012, it secured an additional $24.5 million from a Series A round led by Highland Capital Partners. By the end of its first year, the company had raised a total of $26.8 million while releasing few details about its possible product offering.
After an 18-month development period in 2013–2014, Qumulo began selling its products in August 2014.{{Cite web|url=http://blogs.seattletimes.com/brierdudley/2015/02/04/18597/|title=Data-storage startup Qumulo raises $40 million|last=Dudley|first=Brier|website=The Seattle Times|access-date=2019-06-19}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/business/storage-startup-qumulo-opens-the-kimono/|title=Storage startup Qumulo opens the kimono|date=2015-03-16|website=The Seattle Times|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-19}} Six months after its product release, the company announced completion of a $40-million funding series led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Before entering the development period, Qumulo employed 18 people which increased to 90 by February 2015 and to 150 employees in January 2016.{{Cite web|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/business/technology/tech-startups-working-to-sell-a-culture-job-hunters-will-buy/|title=Tech startups working hard to sell culture that job hunters will buy into|date=2016-01-30|website=The Seattle Times|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-19}}
The company remained secretive about its product offering until March 2015,{{Cite web|url=https://www.geekwire.com/2015/fresh-off-a-40m-funding-round-data-storage-startup-qumulo-comes-out-of-stealth-mode/|title=Fresh off a $40M funding round, data storage startup Qumulo comes out of stealth mode|date=2015-03-16|website=GeekWire|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-19}} when it finally offered specific details of its software, describing it as a "data aware" storage system. This was followed by a $32.5-million funding series in June 2016 adding new investor Allen & Company.{{Cite web|url=https://www.geekwire.com/2016/former-isilon-executive-bill-richter-named-ceo-qumulo-says-new-job-no-brainer/|title=Former Isilon executive Bill Richter named CEO of Qumulo, says new job was a 'no brainer'|date=2016-11-29|website=GeekWire|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-19}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/business/technology/qumulo-raises-325m-pushing-total-funding-to-100-million/|title=Qumulo raises $32.5M, pushing total funding to $100 million|date=2016-06-02|website=The Seattle Times|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-19}} However, the company's share price had dropped by more than 35% when compared to previous rounds and the funds generated were below the company's expectations.{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/storage-company-qumulo-raises-32-5m-1464894262|title=Storage Analytics Startup Qumulo Raises $32.5M in 'Down' Round|last=Gage|first=Deborah|date=2016-06-02|work=Wall Street Journal|access-date=2019-06-19|language=en-US|issn=0099-9660}}
In November 2016, Qumulo hired Bill Richter to succeed Godman as CEO.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/11/30/qumulo_gets_head_transplant/|title=Qumulo gets head transplant|last=Mellor|first=Chris|date=30 Nov 2016|website=www.theregister.co.uk|language=en|access-date=2019-06-19}} Godman continued as CTO until the end of 2018.{{Cite web|url=https://www.geekwire.com/2018/qumulo-co-founder-cto-peter-godman-left-company/|title=Qumulo co-founder and CTO Peter Godman has left the company|date=2018-11-08|website=GeekWire|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-19}} Qumulo raised $30 million additional funds in April 2017 and $93 million in June 2018, bringing it total funding to $230 million.{{Cite web|url=https://www.geekwire.com/2018/qumulo-adds-93m-series-d-funding-now-raised-230m-tackle-hybrid-cloud-file-storage/|title=Qumulo raises $93M to tackle hybrid cloud file storage, total funding now $230M|date=2018-06-06|website=GeekWire|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-19}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/business/technology/seattle-startup-qumulo-pulls-in-93-million-investment/|title=Seattle startup Qumulo pulls in $93 million investment|last=Lerman|first=Rachel|date=2018-06-06|website=The Seattle Times|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-19}} In January 2019, the company opened offices in Vancouver, Canada.{{Cite magazine|url=https://time.com/5634351/canada-high-skilled-labor-immigrants/|title=Tech Companies Are Flocking to Canada for High-Skilled Foreign Workers|last=Semuels|first=Alana|date=July 25, 2019|magazine=Time|language=en|access-date=2019-12-27}}
In May of 2022, Kiran Bhageshpur stepped in as Qumulo CTO to expand its product development focus to meet growing demand for cloud and AI.{{Cite web |last=Ehrlich |first=Chris |date=2022-06-07 |title=Qumulo Hires Chief Technology and Customer Officers |url=https://www.enterprisestorageforum.com/software/qumulo-hires-chief-technology-customer-officers/ |access-date=2025-04-28 |website=Enterprise Storage Forum |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Mellor |first=Chris |date=2024-02-07 |title=Qumulo CTO discusses the future of data storage |url=https://blocksandfiles.com/2024/02/07/qumulo-cto-interview/ |access-date=2025-04-28 |website=Blocks and Files |language=en-US}}
Citing economic conditions and getting the company to profitability, on June 29, 2022 Qumulo laid off 80 employees, approximately 19% of its workforce.{{Cite web|url=https://www.geekwire.com/2022/seattle-startup-qumulo-lays-off-80-employees-ceo-cites-economic-conditions-and-reaching-profitability/|title=Seattle startup Qumulo lays off 80 employees, CEO cites economic conditions and reaching profitability|date=2022-06-29|website=GeekWire|language=en-US|access-date=2022-06-29}} Aaron Passey, who helped launch Qumulo back in 2012, returned to the Seattle-based data management company in 2022.{{Cite web |last=Soper |first=Taylor |date=2022-12-13 |title=Tech Moves: Qumulo co-founder returns; Allen Institute adds execs; and more |url=https://www.geekwire.com/2022/tech-moves-qumulo-co-founder-returns-allen-institute-adds-execs-and-more/ |access-date=2023-03-22 |website=GeekWire |language=en-US}}
In July 2024 Qumulo hired Douglas Gourlay from Arista Networks and Cisco Systems to replace Bill Richter as President and CEO.{{Cite web |last=Team |first=Qumulo |title=Qumulo Board Announces Douglas Gourlay as new Chief Executive Officer |url=https://qumulo.com/resources/qumulo-board-announces-douglas-gourlay-as-new-chief-executive-officer/ |access-date=2024-09-16 |website=Qumulo |language=en-US}} Gourlay previously served as Vice President and General Manager of Software at Arista Networks. Prior to Arista, he held executive leadership positions at Cisco Systems. Gourlay has filed or holds over seventy patents in systems and networking technologies.
In August 2024, Michelle Palleschi joined the Qumulo executive team as Executive Vice President and COO.{{Cite web |last=Gruet |first=Richard |date=2025-03-28 |title=Qumulo Delivers Profitable Growth and Rapid Expansion |url=https://www.storagenewsletter.com/2025/03/28/qumulo-delivers-profitable-growth-and-rapid-expansion/ |access-date=2025-04-28 |website=StorageNewsletter |language=en-US}} Palleschi previously held leadership positions at Sendoso, Skyport Systems, Apple, and Cisco Systems.
Products
Qumulo develops storage software for file-based data. The file system software can be deployed with on-premise data centers on Qumulo's network-attached storage hardware, as well as on Hewlett Packard Enterprise Apollo and Dell PowerEdge R740xd platforms.{{Cite web|url=https://www.geekwire.com/2017/qumulo-unveils-next-generation-file-storage-system-now-available-amazon-web-services/|title=Qumulo unveils next generation of its file storage system, now available on Amazon Web Services|date=2017-09-19|website=GeekWire|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-19}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/08/15/what_the_dell_qumulo_gets_on_to_poweredge_servers/|title=What the Dell? Qumulo slips into PowerEdge servers|last=Mellor|first=Chris|date=15 Aug 2018|website=www.theregister.co.uk|language=en|access-date=2019-06-19}} It can also be used on the cloud storage platforms Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud Platform.{{Cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2015/02/04/stealthy-seattle-storage-startup-qumulo-snags-40m-investment/|title=Stealthy Seattle Storage Startup Qumulo Snags $40M Investment|website=TechCrunch|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-19}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/04/05/qumulo_google_cloud/|title=Hard, er, Core: Qumulo dropkicks scale-out storage software at Google's cloud|last=Mellor|first=Chris|date=5 Apr 2019|website=www.theregister.co.uk|language=en|access-date=2019-06-19}}
In September 2018, the firm announced an update to its software adding machine learning-powered pre-fetch to anticipate which files the user will most likely access next. The software preemptively caches files identified by analyzing user behavior and patterns in file access.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/09/14/qumulo_software_speed/|title=The quickening: Qumulo speed with software boost for new kit|last=Mellor|first=Chris|date=14 Sep 2018|website=www.theregister.co.uk|language=en|access-date=2019-06-19}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-02/seattle-s-data-storage-startups-form-industry-hub|title=Seattle: Kurt Cobain, Coffee, Data Storage|last=Bass|first=Dina|date=2015-04-02|website=www.bloomberg.com|access-date=2019-06-19}}
Funding
Qumulo has raised $346million in funding.
Following its Series E funding round of $125 million in July of 2020, Qumulo achieved “unicorn” status at a valuation of more than $1.2billion.{{Cite web |date=2025-04-25 |title=Qumulo - 2025 Funding Rounds & List of Investors - Tracxn |url=https://tracxn.com/d/companies/qumulo/__qKeXjqbyE2HTkLBB6ayd22ro0BB_BRjQWB3BxU4dQqg/funding-and-investors |access-date=2025-04-28 |website=tracxn.com |language=en}}
| class="wikitable"
|Series |Date |Amount |Lead Investor(s) |
| Seed
|April 2012 |0.5 |Valhalla Partners |
| A
|November 2012 |24.5 |Highland Capital Partners, Madrona Venture Group, Valhalla Partners |
| B
|February 2015 |40 |Valhalla Partners, Madrona Venture Group, Highland Capital Partners, Kleiner Perkins |
| C
|May 2016 |32.5 |Allen & Company, Top Tier Capital Partners, Tyche Partners, Valhalla Partners, Madrona Venture Group, Highland Capital Partners, Kleiner Perkins |
| C1
|April 2017 |30 |Northern Light Venture Capital, Madrona Venture Group, Top Tier Capital Partners, Kleiner Perkins, Tyche Partners |
| D
|June 2018 |93 |BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, Highland Capital Partners, Madrona Venture Group, Valhalla Partners, Western Digital Cptl, Kleiner Perkins |
| E
|July 2020 |125 |BlackRock, Highland Capital Partners, Madrona Venture Group, Kleiner Perkins, Amity Ventures |
References
{{Reflist}}