TigerGraph aims to take graph technology mainstream

For TigerGraph, it’s the right time for graph databases.

As organizations harness more data from more sources, they need to discover the data points that relate to one another and combine them to derive insights based on that data. Traditionally, organizations have stored their data in relational databases, and while strengths of relational databases include accuracy and ease of use,one of their limitationsis lack of scalability.

Unlike relational databases, in which data points can only connect with one other data point at a time, graph databases enable data points to simultaneously connect with multiple other data points, enabling users to quickly discover relationships and derive insight.

Social networks such as Facebook and LinkedInuse graph technologyto connect people, and other common use cases for graph technology include supply chain management and fraud detection.

TigerGraph, founded in 2012 and based in Redwood City, Calif., is a graph database vendor.

Asdata grows exponentially, TigerGraph founder and CEO Yu Xu says organizations will recognize the shortcomings of relational databases and seek out the speed and scale of graph databases. As a result,the vendor has aggressive goals, both in terms of product development and revenue growth.

To lead that product development, TigerGraph recently hired Jay Yu as its new vice president of product innovation. He previously spent 18 years at Intuit where he most recently served as a distinguished engineer.

But Yu won’t only be tasked with developing the vendor’s product strategy. He will also oversee the vendor’s new innovation center in San Diego and be responsible for hiring about 100 people to work there.

Recently, Xu and Yu discussed their vision for TigerGraph, including financial goals in preparation for a potential initial public stock offering and technology goals such as making graph technology easy to use. In addition, they spoke about what they see as a paradigm shift from relational databases to graph databases, and how TigerGraph is poised to take advantage.

Jay, what drew you to TigerGraph after 18 years at Intuit?

Jay Yu: In the last three years at Intuit, I was driving a knowledge graph project. I developed my passion for graph there, and was fortunate enough to evaluate TigerGraph as a technology and benchmark them against other vendors. Over the years, I developed more passion for graph, and when the opportunity came [to move to TigerGraph], I wanted to jump in and focus on advancing graph technology and making an impact on the industry. I truly believe in graph and believe that there’s a right way to do graph.

Also, the leadership team drew me to TigerGraph. When I talked to Yu Xu, we had long discussions and shared our dreams and vision. The vision is that graph technology is going to take over the whole world, whether people like it or not. We believe that in five to 10 years, graph is going to replace relational technology. TigerGraph is at the forefront of that. Finally, there’s a huge difference between startups and large, established companies. Intuit is great, but being that big, it can’t [innovate] as fast. In terms of having a direct impact on technology, I can have a bigger impact by coming to TigerGraph.

Yu Xu, did you previously have a director of product innovation?

Yu Xu: Previously, we did have leadership in product, but not the position and responsibilities Jay will have. His position is about more than just the product. We had people to plan a release, build a roadmap, do customer education and respond to customer feedback. He’s going to do that. But he’s also going to focus on innovation. He’ll do things around the graph interface, and also we’re going to build more applications for things like supply chain optimization and customer journey. We want customers to see the value of graph more quickly.