Onyx, a San Francisco-based startup, has raised $10 million in seed funding for its open-source internal enterprise search tool, which aims to simplify the process of finding information within companies. The seed round was co-led by Khosla Ventures and First Round Capital, with participation from Y Combinator and prominent angel investors.

The Onyx platform connects to over 40 internal company data sources, including Salesforce, GitHub, and Google Drive, allowing employees to access the information they need quickly and efficiently. According to Chris Weaver, co-founder and co-CEO of Onyx, the idea for the platform emerged from his own struggles to find information in his previous engineering roles. "We knew where things were roughly, but it was still kind of hard, [and] new people just couldn't find anything," Weaver said. "It felt like there had to be a better way to do this."

What sets Onyx apart from other internal search tools is its open-source nature. This approach has allowed companies to experiment with the platform and avoid lengthy enterprise sales cycles. As a result, Onyx has already attracted dozens of enterprise clients, including Netflix, Ramp, and Thales Group. Co-founder and co-CEO Yuhong Sun credits the company's success to its open-source strategy, stating, "Open source is really the only way for this type of solution to scale out and get the momentum into every single business in the world."

Despite entering a competitive field, Onyx remains confident in its unique approach. The company faces competition from startups like Glean, which has raised $600 million in venture funding, as well as companies building their own internal solutions, such as fintech Klarna's internal search and chatbot tool, Kiki. However, Weaver believes that Onyx's open-source nature and ease of implementation – companies can get Onyx running in about 30 minutes – will give it a competitive edge.

The $10 million seed funding will be used to hire and develop more premium features for the platform. Onyx has already seen explosive growth, with over 160,000 messages in a single week. The company's goal is to become a foundational tool for companies looking to build their own internal search products. With its innovative approach and growing client base, Onyx is poised to revolutionize the way enterprises access and utilize their internal data.

The seed round also saw participation from notable angel investors, including Gokul Rajaram, former board member at Coinbase and Pinterest; Arash Ferdowsi, co-founder of Dropbox; and Amit Agarwal, former chief product officer of Datadog. This influx of capital and expertise will likely play a significant role in Onyx's future growth and development.

As the enterprise technology landscape continues to evolve, Onyx's open-source internal search tool is well-positioned to make a significant impact. By providing a scalable, accessible solution for companies to manage their internal data, Onyx is addressing a critical pain point for many organizations. With its innovative approach and growing momentum, Onyx is an enterprise technology startup to watch in the coming years.