Startup Prisma Data Inc. on Tuesday announced that it has raised $40 million in funding for its namesake database tool, which helps developers manage the information used by their applications.

Altimeter led the Series B funding round with participation from returning backers Amplify Partners and Kleiner Perkins. A number of angel investors participated as well. The group included the founders of Microsoft Corp.’s GitHub subsidiary, development tooling unicorn Vercel Inc. and a number of other enterprise technology companies. 

Prisma’s funding round comes about a year after the startup released its namesake database tool under an open-source license. Since then, more than 150,000 developers have adopted the tool.

There are many different ways to organize the data that an application processes. Developers often organize data using objects, which are code structures that are widely used in software projects because they ease certain programming tasks. Databases, meanwhile, commonly structure information in the form of rows and columns rather than as objects.

There are situations where an application organizes its records using objects, while the database in which the application stores those records uses rows and columns. This creates compatibility challenges that can require a significant amount of custom code to address. There are software tools that can streamline the task, but according to Prisma, they’re complicated to use in some respects.

Prisma’s namesake tool promises to ease developers’ work. The tool functions as an interface between an application and the database that the application uses to store its information. Developers can work with the Prisma-powered interface, which is relatively simple to use, instead of having to interact directly with the database.

Prisma says that its software reduces the amount of code that developers have to write to build applications. Additionally, the startup’s tool promises to lower the risk of software bugs. A built-in code autocomplete feature saves time for software teams by speeding up repetitive programming tasks. 

“The way developers build applications is evolving. Prisma breaks down barriers between front-end and back-end teams, and between data engineers, developers, and business analysts,” said Altimeter partner Jamin Ball. “The Prisma ORM is a product developers love, and an important step toward modernizing full stack development.”

Prisma will use the new funding to invest in its open-source tool and the surrounding developer ecosystem. The startup is also building a commercial version of the tool, known as the Application Data Platform, that will debut later this year. The platform will offer additional cybersecurity features, capabilities designed to help developers optimize database queries and other enhancements. 

Image: Prisma Data