Hedvig Inc., the software-defined storage (SDS) startup, that burst out of stealth with $12.5 million in funding just two months ago, has secured an additional $18 million in a Series B round that brings its total funding to $30.5 million.

The startup is most notable for being founded by Avinash Lakshman, the same guy who created the Apache Cassandra NoSQL database while working at Facebook.

Hedvig’s approach to SDS is that it combines disparate storage systems into a single, virtualized pool that can be accessed and managed from a single platform which manages both private and public clouds. Hedvig also has the ability to enable “complete protocol consolidation” by collapsing the storage stack into a single platform, leading to lower costs, faster provisioning, and a more flexible storage picture, the company claims.

The startup is bidding to redefine data storage through a distributed systems lens, and aims to help customers avoid constant refreshing of their systems by providing a platform that future-proofs commodity storage hardware by pooling resources. This also helps to provide an avenue to achieving web scale, the company said.

“What we are fundamentally trying to do is provide complete storage protocol consolidation on one platform and make provisioning super simple,” Lakshman said in a live chat crowdsourced press conference CrowdChat with @SiliconANGLE @theCUBE last April. “When I say simplicity in provisioning one can push the envelope further and make it such that the platform lends itself to different workloads by change of policy and or media.”

*Read the entire CrowdChat with Hedvig’s Avinash Lakshman at the bottom of this post*

The latest round was led by Vertex Ventures with participation from existing investors True Ventures and Atlantic Bridge.

“Avinash and I worked together at Facebook where he built a reputation for tackling transformational problems,” said Jonathan Heiliger, general partner at Vertex and former vice president of infrastructure and technical operations at Facebook, in a release. “Apache Cassandra, which Avinash invented, has been lauded for its robust design and inimitable scalability—attributes Hedvig brings to modern storage for modern business. Hedvig’s product initially seems like sci-fi, the good kind that leaves you wanting more.”

Hedvig’s latest funding comes at a time when the storage market is becoming increasingly fragmented as the “software-defined evolution” gains traction. Numerous startups are vying to be the transformational platform in SDS, and data center modernization is the second-most important IT initiative for the enterprise, said Forrester Research recently.

Hedvig isn’t the only SDS company that’s proving to be attractive to investors – just last week, Rubrik, which offers a converged data management solution, racked up $41 million, just months after emerging from stealth with $10 million.

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