Welcome to The SaaS CFO Podcast! In this episode, host Ben Murray sits down with Braden Hancock, co-founder of Snorkel AI, to explore the journey of turning an academic research project at Stanford into one of today’s leading AI data platforms. Braden shares the origins of Snorkel, how it grew from a PhD initiative to a company helping some of the world’s largest enterprises tackle their toughest data labeling and AI evaluation challenges, and why good data remains the “secret sauce” behind successful AI. 

We’ll dive into how Snorkel’s platform has enabled organizations—from major banks to highly regulated industries—to quickly build and customize AI models, and why scalable, programmatic approaches to data labeling are game changers. Braden also gives us a behind-the-scenes look at Snorkel’s growth, fundraising journey (raising over $237 million to date!), and valuable lessons learned along the way. If you’re interested in the real-world applications of AI, SaaS growth strategies, or the evolving landscape of enterprise tech, you won’t want to miss this insightful conversation with one of AI’s innovative leaders. 

Let’s jump in! 

Show Notes: 

00:00 "AI Success: Data-Driven Approach" 

06:24 Startup Investment Stages Simplified 

09:57 Strategic Momentum Drives Startup Success 

13:16 Expanding Channels and Partnerships 

14:33 AI Platform & Data Solutions Pricing 

20:25 Focus on Evaluation Challenges 

21:17 "Discover Snorkel Online" 

Links: 

SaaS Fundraising Stories: https://www.thesaasnews.com/news/snorkel-ai-raises-raises-85-million-in-series-c 

https://www.thesaasnews.com/news/snorkel-ai-raises-100-million-in-series-d 

Braden Hancock’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradenhancock/ 

Snorkel AI’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/snorkel-ai/ 

Snorkel AI’s Website: https://snorkel.ai/ 

To learn more about Ben check out the links below: 

Subscribe to Ben’s daily metrics newsletter: https://saasmetricsschool.beehiiv.com/subscribe 

Subscribe to Ben’s SaaS newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/df1db6bf8bca/the-saas-cfo-sign-up-landing-page 

SaaS Metrics courses here: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/ 

Join Ben’s SaaS community here: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/offers/ivNjwYDx/checkout 

Follow Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benrmurray