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§ Private Profile · San Jose, CA, USA
Pavilion Data Systems, Inc. is a technology company.
Pavilion Data Systems delivers a HyperParallel Data Platform, powered by its HyperOS, providing ultra-fast, rack-scale NVMe-over-Fabric storage. This platform achieves unmatched performance, density, and ultra-low latency, enabling parallel access to a single data pool to eliminate data friction and accelerate intensive workloads. Its technical approach emphasizes extreme scalability and efficiency in a compact data center footprint.
Founded in 2014 by Kiran Malwankar, Sundar Kanthadai, and VR Satish, the company's insight stemmed from the critical need for a storage architecture overcoming traditional system limitations. They recognized the escalating demands of high-performance computing, aiming to build a platform capable of supporting the rigorous requirements of modern data analytics.
Pavilion's solutions target organizations with demanding artificial intelligence, machine learning, and advanced data analytics applications requiring real-time processing. The company envisions its storage platform empowering enterprises to extract maximum data value with unprecedented speed and efficiency, driving faster insights and superior decision-making.
Pavilion Data Systems, Inc. has raised $130.0M across 4 funding rounds.
Pavilion Data Systems, Inc. has raised $130.0M in total across 4 funding rounds.
Pavilion Data Systems, Inc. has raised $130.0M across 4 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $45.0M Other Equity in January 2022.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 20, 2022 | $45M Venture Round | Artiman Ventures, WEN H. Hsieh, Ph.D. | DAG Ventures, Gaingels, Korea Investment Partners, Christian Munafo, SAM H., RPS Ventures, SK Telecom Ventures, Tyche Partners | Announced |
| Jan 1, 2022 | $45M Series D | Artiman Ventures, Kleiner Perkins | Alsop Louie Partners, Alumni Ventures, America's Frontier Fund, General Catalyst, Matter Venture Partners, TET Ventures, Trucks Venture Capital, Vibe Capital, Y Combinator, Gokul Rajaram, DAG Ventures, Gaingels, Korea Investment Partners, Liberty Street Funds, Mirae Asset, RPS Ventures, SK Telecom Ventures, Taiwania Capital, Tyche Partners | Announced |
| Aug 1, 2019 | $25M Series C | Kabir Misra | America's Frontier Fund, General Catalyst, Vibe Capital, Y Combinator, Artiman Ventures, DAG Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Korea Investment Partners, SK Telecom, Tyche Partners | Announced |
| Jan 1, 2016 | $15M Series A | — | America's Frontier Fund, General Catalyst, Vibe Capital, Y Combinator | Announced |
Pavilion Data Systems, Inc. was a technology company that developed a high-performance data platform for enterprises, enabling faster, simpler, and scalable data processing as a complement to AI/ML, HPC, and similar workloads[2][1]. It targeted industries including Finance, Government, Oil & Gas, Large Enterprise, and Research Facilities, with early traction in the US federal sector serving 20-30 customers around 2017[1][3]. The company built NVMe over Fabrics flash array technology based on a massively parallel network switch design but ceased operations in October 2022 after failed sales and funding efforts amid economic pressures like COVID, supply chain issues, and recession fears[3][5].
Pavilion Data Systems was founded in 2014 by CEO Kiran Malwankar and VP Software Engineering Sundar Kanthadai, who developed an innovative array technology using a network switch for massively parallel features[3]. VR Satish joined as CTO in December 2015 from Symantec/Veritas, earning co-founder status for his contributions[3]. Leadership shifted with Shri Dodani becoming CEO in 2016, Gurpreet Singh in 2017, and Dario Zamorian in July 2021, who secured a final funding round but couldn't sustain momentum[3]. Funding included $21 million in 2016-2017 (Series A), $11 million in 2018 (Series B), $25 million in 2019 (Series C), and $45 million in 2022, totaling over $100 million, though no raises occurred in 2020-2021[3]. Early growth focused on US federal customers with limited channel partners, but the company shut down on October 12, 2022, laying off 96 of 100 employees due to cash depletion[3].
These features positioned Pavilion as a storage startup aiming to disrupt legacy systems, though market traction proved elusive[5][3].
Pavilion rode the early 2010s trend toward NVMe over Fabrics and disaggregated storage architectures, seeking to capitalize on surging demand for AI/ML and HPC data platforms amid exploding data volumes[2][3]. Timing aligned with hyperscale computing growth, but it faced brutal market forces: as the last independent NVMe-oF array startup, it competed against incumbents like Pure Storage and Dell EMC while economic headwinds—COVID disruptions, Ukraine conflict, inflation, and supply shortages—eroded viability by 2022[3][5]. Its closure underscores natural selection in storage, where startups struggled for traction against established players, influencing the ecosystem by highlighting risks in niche high-performance hardware amid cloud-native shifts[5][3].
Pavilion's story ends definitively with its 2022 shutdown, leaving no active operations or assets under the original entity—technology and IP likely absorbed or shelved by investors[3][5]. Broader trends like AI-driven storage demands persist, but Pavilion's failure signals that future innovators must prioritize cloud integration and partnerships over pure hardware plays. Its legacy warns of execution risks in volatile markets, tying back to its bold origins: a massively parallel vision that couldn't outpace economic realities.
Pavilion Data Systems, Inc. has raised $130.0M in total across 4 funding rounds.
Pavilion Data Systems, Inc.'s investors include Artiman Ventures, Wen H. Hsieh, Ph.D., DAG Ventures, Gaingels, Korea Investment Partners, Christian Munafo, Sam H., RPS Ventures, SK Telecom Ventures, Tyche Partners, Kleiner Perkins, Alsop Louie Partners.