# Ajay Kulkarni

> Ajay Kulkarni is the Co-Founder and CEO of Tiger Data (formerly Timescale), the company behind TimescaleDB - the world's leading open-source time-series database built on PostgreSQL. A serial entrepreneur with MIT roots, he previously co-founded Sensobi (acquired by GroupMe/Microsoft) and iobeam before building TimescaleDB into a developer-beloved unicorn with $184M raised, 50,000+ developers, and enterprise customers like Akamai, Cisco, GE, IBM, Microsoft, Uber, and Walmart.

- **Role:** Co-Founder and CEO at Tiger Data (creators of TimescaleDB)
- **Organizations:** Tiger Data, TimescaleDB, Sensobi, iobeam, GroupMe, Microsoft, Citigroup
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Master of Engineering in Computer Science (focus: Artificial Intelligence), MIT AI Lab, MBA in Entrepreneurship, MIT Sloan School of Management
- **Known for:** Co-founded TimescaleDB, the world's leading open-source time-series database built on PostgreSQL, Raised $184M total funding including $110M Series C led by Tiger Global at $1B+ unicorn valuation, Built a community of 50,000+ developers and 1,000+ paying customers

## Career timeline

- **2002-2004** — Financial data analyst (early career)
- **2005-2009** — Mobile technology roles, including work at Microsoft and Citigroup
- **2009** — Co-Founded Sensobi - a mobile address book and CRM platform
- **2011** — Sensobi acquired by GroupMe (later acquired by Skype/Microsoft)
- **2011-2014** — Product Manager at GroupMe; led mobile engineering team scaling to millions of daily users and billions of monthly messages
- **2015** — Co-Founded iobeam - IoT data analysis platform
- **2017** — Co-Founded TimescaleDB with Mike Freedman (Princeton professor); launched open-source time-series database built on PostgreSQL
- **2019** — TimescaleDB raised Series A; 7x community growth, 20x revenue growth over two years
- **2022** — Raised $110M Series C led by Tiger Global at $1B+ valuation; $184M total funding
- **2025** — Rebranded Timescale as Tiger Data; launched Tiger Cloud and Tiger Postgres
- **2025** — Announced strategic collaboration with AWS for unified PostgreSQL platform
- **2026** — Launched TimescaleDB Enterprise for on-premises and edge deployment
- **2026** — Strategic partnership with Inductive Automation for industrial historian modernization

## Achievements

- Co-founded TimescaleDB, the world's leading open-source time-series database built on PostgreSQL
- Raised $184M total funding including $110M Series C led by Tiger Global at $1B+ unicorn valuation
- Built a community of 50,000+ developers and 1,000+ paying customers
- Enterprise customers include Akamai, Cisco WebEx, Comcast, DigitalOcean, GE, IBM, Microsoft, Pfizer, Samsung, Schneider Electric, Uber, and Walmart
- Sensobi startup acquired by GroupMe/Microsoft in 2011
- Grew GroupMe mobile engineering to millions of daily users and billions of monthly messages
- Led TimescaleDB to 7x community growth and 20x revenue growth over two years
- Named to MIT Martin Trust Center for Entrepreneurship profiles
- Tiger Data named Gold Technology Provider in Inductive Automation's Ignition Technology Ecosystem (2026)
- Strategic collaboration with AWS for unified PostgreSQL platform announced October 2025

## Latest updates

- **2026-04** — Tiger Data launched TimescaleDB Enterprise for on-premises and edge deployment
- **2026-04** — Strategic partnership with Inductive Automation announced; Tiger Data named Gold Technology Provider in Ignition ecosystem
- **2026-03** — TimescaleDB 2.26.0 released with new features
- **2025-10** — Strategic collaboration with AWS announced for unified PostgreSQL platform
- **2025** — Rebranded Timescale as Tiger Data; launched Tiger Cloud and Tiger Postgres products

## Links

- Website: https://tigerdata.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ajaykulkarni/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/acoustik
- GitHub: https://github.com/timescale

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/ajay-kulkarni
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-13