$45 million in Series A: Ditto – A database for mobile, web, IoT and server applications

Many applications today assume that data is only stored in one place, typically a single database. But reality is more complicated. With the proliferation of mobile devices and cloud infrastructure — the latter accelerated during the pandemic — apps now need to store and process data in more places, from the edge to the public cloud.

This is what prompted Adam Fish and Max Alexander to form Ditto, which today emerged from the shadows with $45 million in Series A funding led by Acrew Capital, with contributions from the US Fund for Innovative Technology (USIT), True Ventures and Amity Ventures. According to Fish and Alexander, Ditto provides a distributed database that works “virtually anywhere,” allowing data to be distributed even in areas with limited or poor Internet connectivity.

“The pandemic has exposed critical vulnerabilities in traditional network infrastructure, causing a surge in demand for contactless solutions,” said Fish, who is the company’s CEO. “Businesses have rushed to transition their day-to-day processes to contactless alternatives, but these applications often required an Internet connection to work effectively. The Ditto platform emerged as a solution to these problems.”

At a high level, Ditto provides a database that runs across all mobile devices and in the cloud, allowing developers to store and synchronize peer-to-peer data across mobile and edge devices. Developers can use it to subscribe to the data they need or want to see.

Ditto works over Bluetooth, peer-to-peer Wi-Fi, and local wired networks to automatically find and connect to other devices and then sync data. Changes to local data are synced offline when Ditto discovers cloud or peer-to-peer devices, Fish says.

Ditto offers various versions of its cloud database, from shared environment rentals to dedicated environments managed by the customer’s own cloud account. Developers can use the platform APIs or request-based synchronization, or both, depending on their needs.

“The Internet-independent Ditto platform enables industries to rapidly adopt contactless solutions while providing applications and processes with additional resiliency and redundancy,” Fish says. “This reduces the risk of downtime and potential loss of revenue, allowing businesses to continue operating even in the face of connectivity issues.”

According to Technavio, the market for enterprise file sync and sharing tools will be worth $12.84 billion by 2026. Therefore, it is not surprising that Ditto is not the only startup claiming its share.

There is Whalesync which transfers data between different software-as-a-service applications. PieSync connects cloud apps and syncs contacts stored in those apps bi-directionally. And Grouparoo, owned by Airbyte and open source, replicates information between databases and cloud-based tools.

Fish doesn’t claim that Ditto is any different from other companies, other than that it has a solid customer base of “tens of thousands” of companies, including brands such as Alaska Airlines, Japan Airlines, Hugo and Lufthansa. Ditto also has several active government and military contracts, Fish said, including a deal worth up to $950 million with the US Air Force.

“Strategic changes in recent years have forced the US government and allies to focus on sustainable information sharing as a top priority,” Fish says. In addition, harsh operating conditions and increased demands are pushing our technologies to evolve in a direction that complements commercial use cases.” With Ditto, strategic and tactical responders can communicate even in the face of damaged infrastructure, congested channels, dynamic disaster response teams, communication barriers, poor interoperability, and security attacks.

In the next few months, the company will focus on expanding its software development toolkit and further commercializing its technology, as well as attracting customers in industries such as travel, education and retail, Fish said.

“While the company didn’t need funding, we decided to raise funds to invest in customer-focused sales and support,” Fish says. “Ditto’s goal is to be the world’s next big database that runs everywhere from cloud providers to edge servers and mobile devices.”

Thomas Tull, USIT Chairman, said: “As technology permeates every aspect of our lives, Ditto’s rapid development in data management and accessibility is critical to the future of data management and access. Ditto’s designs have a huge number of applications in all industries – from everyday life to business and the Pentagon – and that is why their work is so important.

Nothing is said about Ditto’s income yet. Fish said, however, that the startup, which has raised $54 million to date, including a $9 million seed round closed in November 2021, plans to increase its workforce from 65 to more than 100 by the end of the year.