The new COO of DataRobot led AppDynamics' 'almost IPO' which never happened because of a last-minute Cisco acquisition

• DataRobot just named Dan Wright as the enterprise AI startup's new chief operations officer. Wright was also COO at another startup, AppDynamics, where he led what he calls an "almost IPO" in 2017.
• AppDynamics was acquired by Cisco for $3.7 billion shortly before it was set to go public. "It was definitely a shock but it was still a good feeling," he told Business Insider.
• Wright will join the leadership team of DataRobot, which helps businesses build AI tools. DataRobot, which has raised $431 million, underscores the the rapid growth of AI in enterprise tech.
• "I really do think that this is going to be the next big trend, you know, software sort of is eating the world, and now it's AI is going to eat software," Wright said.
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DataRobot just hired a new chief operating officer with sort of an offbeat background: he once led another hot startup's "almost" IPO.

Dan Wright is the AI startup's new COO, the same position he held at AppDynamics when its much-anticipated 2017 public offering was cancelled at the last minute when Cisco bought the startup for $3.7 billion

Wright is stepping down as AppDynamics COO to help lead DataRobot, a Boston-based company which helps businesses develop AI-powered tools.

Founded in 2012, DataRobot, which has raised $431 million from investors including Sapphire Ventures, is considered one of the leading startups in the fast-growing enterprise AI software market.

Wright, who had been with AppDyamics since 2013, said he decided to join DataRobot because its product is "incredibly impressive and very differentiated versus the competition," he told Business Insider.

He also described DataRobot CEO Jeremy as "a very rare founder, incredibly talented."

DataRobot did not disclose its valuation although there's speculation that it is a unicorn, or, a startup valued at more than $1 billion. The company said it has more than 1,200 employees and supports AI projects in more than 35 countries.

All this has inevitably sparked speculation that DataRobot could be going public soon. Wright said that's just speculation at this point.

"Ultimately, what we want to do is create an iconic company," he said. "And we have an idea in terms of what that means. Ultimately, it means having a really positive impact on our employees, our investors, our partners, our customers in the world. That's the focus. If an IPO happens along the way, that's great."

Definitely a shock, but still "a good feeling"

His first experience with an IPO process had an unexpected ending. AppDynamics was set to have one of the first major tech public offerings in 2017. But Cisco swooped in the day before the offering was set to happen and plunked down $3.7 billion to acquire the company. The IPO was no more.

"It was the almost IPO," Wright quipped.

"It was definitely a shock, but it was still a good feeling," he continued. "It was a big change, but I think a positive one. … I felt good about it, because ultimately it comes down to, you know, what does it mean to everybody who put blood sweat and tears into the company and to customers."

He recalled how Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins paid a visit to the AppDynamics headquarters in San Francisco to meet with the tech behemoth's new employees. AppDyanmics eventually became a key part of the Cisco portfolio.

As DataRobot COO, Wright said he will focus on a fast-growing and increasingly competitive enterprise AI software market. A key challenge is explaining how AI can and is helping companies improve the way they do business. This is especially important at a time when more businesses, including startups, are touting AI-powered products.

"Any company that's going after a market this big, there's going to be a lot of noise in the market," he said. "There are so many people saying 'AI," so we need to really continue to explain what AI means. It's just a matter of kind of cutting through the noise to get there."

DataRobot's AI offering has won rave reviews from one of its major investors. "With DataRobot, we had never seen the kind of reaction from our CXO network when they demoed their product, with most CXO's wanting more in-depth proof of concept follow ups," Sapphire Ventures President Jai Das told Business Insider in a recent interview.

Wright, who is from the Sacramento area in Northern California, started out as a lawyer focused on technology issues and cases which led him to AppDynamics.

"I just saw I kind of fell in love with the idea of taking something from nothing, and creating a company that can change your world," he said. "And I saw that movie enough to say I really need to be even closer to it, I want to be part of the movie."

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