Algorithms and machine learning automate certain aspects of data preparation and users work with the software through a user-interface similar to Excel spreadsheets.

[6] Simultaneously with its public release, Paxata announced an $8 million funding round led by Accel Partners.

[11][19] According to analyst firm Ovum, the software is made possible through advances in predictive analytics, machine learning and the NoSQL data caching methodology.

[14] Ventana Research said its spreadsheet-based user interface "should resonate well with business analysts," who are resistant to move away from familiar Excel-like programs.

[18] According to Gartner, while Paxata is an early entrant into the market, many startups and large corporations are making investments in developing similar competing products.

[14] According to Gigaom and IT Business Edge, one way Paxata differs is that it automatically merges multiple data-sets into a single table, so it can be easily imported into a visualization or analysis tool.

[7][22] Gartner said Paxata will have a difficult time finding a compelling pricing model, when many data discovery tools that it supplements provide some similar features.