Data has become a valuable asset for many businesses and organizations. They are analyzing it to gain insight about markets, customers and their own operations. They are using data to fuel digital transformation initiatives and support new data-intensive services.

And data -- lots of it -- is a critical component of AI and machine learning initiatives.

But wrangling, managing and analyzing data is a major challenge. The total amount of data created, captured, replicated and consumed is growing at more than 20 percent a year and is forecast to reach approximately 291 zettabytes in 2027, according to market researcher IDC.

That's why there is a steady stream of big data startup companies developing leading-edge technologies to help businesses access, collect, manage, move, transform, analyze, understand, measure, govern, maintain and secure data.

Here's a look at 10 big data startups that caught our attention in 2024 that we think solution providers should be aware of.