(atdigit/Shutterstock)
Artyom Keydunov created the Dice semantic layer as a facet venture again in 2018 to make sure constant solutions to queries generated by the brand new Slack chatbot he had constructed. Quick ahead seven eventful years, and semantic layers have emerged as a vital factor within the agentic AI stack. If the market calls for an open normal for the semantic layer, Dice is able to present it, Keydunov mentioned.
The pure language tech that Keydunov used for that early Slack chatbot was nothing in comparison with what ChatGPT and different giant language fashions can do. “It was fundamental–inferior to what we’ve in the present day,” the Dice CEO and co-founder advised BigDATAwire. “However then I rapidly realized I would want to construct my very own semantic layer so this straightforward AI can work.”
The Dice semantic layer–which permits customers to ascertain widespread metrics for his or her information and helps to make sure constant solutions for SQL queries–rapidly took off among the many burgeoning Slack neighborhood. That early success for Dice led Keydunov to ascertain an organization across the open supply semantic layer in 2020.
Dice adoption continued to develop steadily in 2020 and 2021, largely centered on making certain that the info offered in conventional BI dashboards is ruled and correct. Most BI instruments have their very own semantic layers, however the benefit of getting an unbiased layer is understanding you’re going to get constant solutions even when utilizing a number of front-end BI instruments and a number of information warehouse backends.
When OpenAI launched ChatGPT in late 2022, it drove an explosion of curiosity within the semantic layer. Immediately, the sport had shifted, and Dice discovered itself smack dab in the course of one thing massive.
Dice CEO and Co-founder Artyom Keydunov
“I didn’t anticipate that,” Keydunov admitted. “It’s an attention-grabbing twist to the plot. Nevertheless it additionally created a singular once-in-a-lifetime alternative for our firm, as a result of everybody began speaking concerning the semantic layer that you just wanted for AI, that you just want this shared medium between people and AI to have the ability to perceive metrics and discuss concerning the metrics and be on the identical web page between machines and people. So undoubtedly it was surprising, however we received very fortunate that it occurred.”
Dice has been adopted by tens of 1000’s of organizations, starting from small tech startups to the largest tech corporations and retailers on this planet, Keydunov mentioned. Many of those organizations are utilizing Dice to make sure that SQL queries generated by chatbots and agentic AI options have entry to constant, ruled information.
Dice expanded its product breadth significantly in June with the launch of Dice D3. The brand new agentic analytics providing, which isn’t a part of the open supply Dice venture, primarily is a front-end BI software that permits clients to leverage the facility of AI to construct dashboards. Dice by no means wished to be out there for front-end BI instruments, however the trajectory of AI BI, or agentic analytics, is simply too nice to move up.
“It’s a very distinctive alternative for us to couple AI with the semantic layer and create a totally new BI expertise reimagined,” Keydunov mentioned. “So our agentic analytics is actually a BI product, constructed from scratch to be AI-first and totally primarily based on our semantic layer.”
The D3 GUI has all of the options you’d anticipate from a daily BI software, he mentioned. The massive distinction is that the BI content material could be totally created and maintained by AI with people within the loop. That is how BI overcomes the perpetual scarcity of information analyst consultants and finally democratizes BI.
“What is occurring proper now’s AI is altering how we work, each job position and performance,” Keydunov mentioned. “I feel we’ll have thousands and thousands of dashboards within the subsequent 12 months or so in a single group, as a result of it’s simply really easy now to construct dashboards with AI. However then how do you guarantee these thousands and thousands of dashboards are corrected and well-governed in the event that they’re created by AI? That’s why you want a sematic layer greater than ever. That’s a trusted proxy.”
We’re nonetheless within the early days of semantic layer turning into a longtime member of the rising AI stack. Databricks and Snowflake launched their very own semantic layers two months in the past. Snowflake’s semantic views and Databricks Unity Catalog metric views are each in beta, and anticipated to be usually accessible quickly.
The Snowflake and Databricks strikes display the vital significance of getting constant and ruled information. If AI goes to the touch each workflow and each trade as marketed, it’s going to want nicely managed, prime quality information to behave upon. A semantic layers can be sure that all of the entities querying a given dataset–and even a number of information units–are all on the some web page.
The query then turns into: Does the market want an open normal for the semantic layer? Keydunov is just not positive the market is able to make that call but.
“Everybody makes their product in a singular method. There’s numerous particulars; the satan within the particulars. Should you undertake the open spec, what would it not appear like?”
Keydunov mentioned he has talked with different semantic layer builders to see if there’s a method to create a single specification. At this cut-off date, with so many alternative approaches being tried, it will appear that a regular spec is just not significantly shut.
“Whereas I feel there’s a want to do this, I don’t assume it’s one thing that’s pressing or urgent,” he mentioned. “Hopefully as soon as the agentic AI BI market matures, we’ll get to the purpose the place we’ll have a industrial spec.”
The Dice semantic layer is designed to supply constant information to stakeholders
If a regular is required, then Keydunov wouldn’t be against Dice being the mannequin for it. The open supply venture is already managed overtly on GitHub. It has practically 19,000 GitHub stars, practically 13,000 Slack members, and about 350 particular person contributors. It’s distributed underneath an Apache 2.0 license.
Whereas different semantic layers present some software program as open supply or supply accessible, Dice is the one semantic layer that you may simply obtain and run, Keydunov mentioned.
“We do the entire runtime,” he mentioned. “If you wish to use the semantic layer in open supply and simply totally management it… you possibly can simply take the entire Dice venture and run it nevertheless you need. You possibly can modify it. You are able to do no matter you need with it. You don’t have to contact the Dice– industrial entity in any respect.”
Keydunov mentioned he has thought of contributing Dice to an open supply basis, such because the Apache Software program Basis or the Linux Basis. “We could possibly be open to that,” he mentioned. “Individuals contribute it to exterior of their organizations, so it’s fairly open from [a true open source standpoint]. We by no means actually set it as a aim to contribute it to Apache, however on the similar time, why not?”
Associated Objects:
Past Phrases: Battle for Semantic Layer Supremacy Heats Up
Dice Secures $25M to Advance Its Semantic Layer Platform
Dice Deepens Semantic Hooks Into GCP, Holds First Convention
