Lightdash is an open-source business intelligence platform built natively on dbt. It turns a data team's dbt models into a governed semantic layer, letting analysts define metrics as code and letting everyone else explore data - and, increasingly, ask AI agents questions - without writing SQL. Founded in 2020 (originally as Hubble in Y Combinator's S20 batch), it positions itself as an open, developer-first alternative to Looker and is backed by Accel, Shopify Ventures, Operator Partners and Y Combinator.
Redbird is a New York-based, AI-powered workflow automation and analytics platform that lets non-technical business teams connect their data, run analysis, and generate reports through a conversational, ChatGPT-like interface - no code required. Founded by the husband-and-wife team of Erin and Deren Tavgac (originally as Cube Analytics), the company builds AI agents that automate roughly 90% of the repetitive analytics, operations, and reporting work that normally clogs enterprise teams. Backed by Y Combinator and a $7.6M seed round led by B Capital, Redbird counts eight Fortune 50 companies among its customers.
Rill Data builds the fastest business intelligence tool for humans and AI agents. Founded in 2020 by Metamarkets veteran Michael Driscoll, Rill takes a BI-as-code approach: dashboards, metrics, and business logic are defined in SQL and YAML, versioned in Git, and powered by embedded OLAP engines (DuckDB in Rill Developer, ClickHouse and Apache Druid in Rill Cloud). The result is sub-second, operational dashboards that teams actually use - processing more than 100 billion daily events for customers in programmatic advertising, media, and fintech.
Hex is a San Francisco-based AI analytics platform founded in 2020 by former Palantir employees Barry McCardel, Caitlin Colgrove, and Glen Takahashi. The company builds an integrated workspace where data teams and business users can analyze data, build interactive apps, and share insights using SQL, Python, and natural language — all in one place. With $177M in total funding including a $70M Series C in May 2025, Hex serves over 1,500 organizations including Reddit, Figma, Anthropic, Brex, and the NBA, replacing fragmented tool stacks with a single governed platform powered by AI agents.