Meta acquires AI data platform Sundial to bolster its analytics push

Meta has bought Sundial, an AI-powered data analytics platform. A company spokesperson confirmed the deal to Axios. The twist is that Sundial’s founders used to work at Meta. They left, built a company, and now they’re coming back with it. What Meta is getting Sundial was co-founded in 2021 by Chandra Narayanan and Julie Zhuo, both former Meta executives. The startup builds self-service analytics tools for businesses. Its pitch combines three ingredients: AI, contextual data, and what the company calls expert playbooks. The goal is to help enterprises make decisions faster without routing every question through a data team. The startup raised $23 million in total funding. The largest piece was a $16 million Series A in July 2025, led by DJ Patil of GPV. Sequoia Capital also backed the company, alongside other investors. Sundial’s client list includes OpenAI. In April 2026, Sundial also joined the Open Semantic Interchange initiative, an effort led by Snowflake. The initiative aims to standardize how data metrics are defined across AI tools. Where Sundial lands inside Meta Sundial won’t operate as a standalone product line. It will be absorbed into Meta’s new data analytics organiza...