Florian Douetteau
French technology executive and software engineer
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Florian Douetteau is a French technology executive and software engineer, and the co-founder and chief executive officer of Dataiku, a data analytics and artificial intelligence software company.[1] He co-founded Dataiku in Paris in 2013 and has served as its chief executive since its establishment.[2][3][4]
Florian Douetteau | |
|---|---|
| Born | Paris, France |
| Education | École normale supérieure |
| Occupations | Technology executive and software engineer |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Known for | Co-founder and CEO of Dataiku |
Early life and education
Douetteau was born in Paris. He studied mathematics and computer science at the École normale supérieure after completing the French preparatory classes Mathématiques Supérieures and Mathématiques Spéciales.[2][5]
Career
Early career
Douetteau began his career in 2000 at Exalead, a French search engine company. He initially worked on the development of its Exascript programming language and subsequently held positions in research, development and product management. He later became head of research and development, leading a team that grew to around 50 engineers.[2] He remained at Exalead for around a decade and left following the company's acquisition by Dassault Systèmes in 2010.[2][6][4]
In 2011, Douetteau became chief technology officer of IsCool Entertainment, a social-gaming company. His work at IsCool included analysing player behaviour and factors affecting whether users paid for game features and services.[2] He subsequently worked as an independent technical consultant and data scientist, including for the advertising-technology company Criteo.[2]
Dataiku
In January 2013, Douetteau co-founded Dataiku in Paris with Clément Stenac, Thomas Cabrol and Marc Batty.[2][7] The company developed software for preparing and analysing large datasets and generating predictive models.[2][8]
A beta version of the platform was launched in April 2013 and by early 2014, Dataiku employed about 15 engineers and data scientists.[2] In 2016, the company opened its US office and moved its headquarters to New York.[2]
Dataiku raised successive rounds of venture funding, including $3.6 million in January 2015 from Serena Capital and Alven Capital; $14 million in October 2016 led by FirstMark Capital;[9] $28 million in a Series B round in September 2017 led by Battery Ventures;[10] and $101 million in a Series C round in December 2018 led by ICONIQ Capital.[11]
In December 2019, the company achieved unicorn status following CapitalG, the independent growth fund backed by Alphabet Inc., acquiring a stake in Dataiku in a secondary transaction that valued the company at $1.4 billion.[12][13]
Dataiku raised a $100 million Series D round in August 2020 led by Stripes and Tiger Global Management,[14] followed by a $400 million Series E round in August 2021, which valued the company at $4.6 billion.[15]
In March 2022, Dataiku reported more than $150 million in annual recurring revenue.[16] In December 2022, the company raised $200 million in a Series F round led by Wellington Management Company at a valuation of $3.7 billion.[17]
By mid-2024, Dataiku had raised approximately $850 million in total funding and reported $250 million in annual recurring revenue. By October 2025, the company served more than 700 organizations and had surpassed $300 million in annualized recurring revenue.[18]
Views on artificial intelligence
In 2018, Douetteau said that increasing access to artificial intelligence could enable companies to compete with large technology firms that had invested in big-data technologies.[3]
In a 2024 interview with France Inter, Douetteau described Dataiku's approach as combining data analysis with artificial intelligence. He characterized AI as a tool for business decision-making, including pricing, customer targeting and manufacturing processes.[5]
Douetteau has also called for France to accelerate its adoption of artificial intelligence. In the same interview, he said that AI was likely to become increasingly prevalent in education, media, research and other areas of daily life.[5]
In 2026, Douetteau discussed the importance of explainability, the broader costs associated with deploying AI systems, and the need for European infrastructure to reduce dependence on external providers.[19]
Recognition
In 2021, the French business magazine Challenges included Douetteau, Clément Stenac and Thomas Cabrol in a ranking of French technology entrepreneurs.[20]