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Chandra Narayanan

Chandra Narayanan is a data analytics executive and entrepreneur who led analytics for Facebook and Instagram, served as chief data scientist at Sequoia CapitalSequoia CapitalSequoia Capital is a venture capital firm founded by Don Valentine in 1972, investing from the seed stage through the growth stage. Its historical investments include Apple, Cisco, Google, YouTube, Airbnb, and Stripe; in 2021 it introduced the Sequoia Capital Fund structure, which can continue to hold public securities, and in 2023 its regional businesses became independent brands and partnerships.Open the full entry, and co-founded the AI data analytics platform Sundial with Julie ZhuoJulie ZhuoJulie Zhuo is a product design executive, author and entrepreneur who served as Facebook’s vice president of product design and wrote the bestselling management book The Making of a Manager. She co-founded the AI data analytics platform Sundial with Chandra Narayanan and joined Meta in October 2026 when it acquired the company.Open the full entry. After Meta acquired Sundial in October 2026, he joined MetaMetaMeta (Meta Platforms, Inc.) is a publicly listed American technology company, renamed from Facebook in 2021, that operates social communication, digital advertising, virtual reality, smart glasses and artificial intelligence businesses.Open the full entry to lead its data analytics tooling and agents work.

Contents11 sections
Key facts

1999Earns a Doctorate in Oceanography from the University of Delaware

Chandra Narayanan earned his doctoral degree in oceanography in 1999 from the University of Delaware’s College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment, where his adviser was Rich Garvine.⁠[1][2]

After 1999: Research and Weather Forecasting Work

After his doctorate, Narayanan did postdoctoral work with the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory and later worked in academia and at the National Weather Service on problems ranging from high-performance computing to weather forecasting.⁠[1]

2009Joins PayPal

In 2009, Narayanan joined PayPalPayPalPayPal Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: PYPL) is an American digital payments company that operates payment brands including PayPal, Venmo, Braintree, and Xoom, providing online and in-store payments, money transfers, and consumer credit to consumers and merchants worldwide.Open the full entry.⁠[1][2]

2010–2017Leads Analytics for Facebook and Instagram

Narayanan spent about seven years at Facebook, working alongside Julie Zhuo, then a product design leader, from March 2010 to March 2017. As director of analytics, he oversaw analytics for Facebook’s Core App and for Instagram. In early 2017 he returned to the University of Delaware to give a talk as Facebook’s head of analytics.⁠[3][4][1][2]

September 2017Joins Sequoia Capital

In September 2017, Narayanan joined venture capital firm Sequoia Capital as chief data scientist and also served as an operating partner there, helping the firm find, select and support entrepreneurs.⁠[3][5][4]

February 2020Co-Founds Inspirit with Julie Zhuo

In February 2020, after Zhuo left Facebook, she and Narayanan co-founded Inspirit, an advisory firm combining data and design to help technology companies scale their products.⁠[6][3]

March 2024Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Sundial

As of March 2024, Narayanan was founder and co-CEO of the AI data analytics company Sundial, building products to help companies make meaningful use of data.⁠[4]

July 2025Sundial Raises Funding

On July 8, 2025, Sundial announced it had raised a total of US$23 million, including a US$16 million Series A led by GPV partner DJ Patil, with participation from Sequoia Capital and others. Narayanan said leaders do not need more data but better insights.⁠[7]

October 2026Joins Meta with Sundial

On October 23, 2026, a Meta spokesperson confirmed that Meta had acquired Sundial, and Narayanan joined Meta along with Zhuo and other team members. Sundial was folded into the newly formed Data Analytics Tooling & Agents unit (DATA) led by Meta Chief Data Officer Alex Schultz, and Narayanan will lead Meta’s data analytics tooling and agents work.⁠[8]

Related Organizations, Websites, and Public Accounts

Sundial: Official website: https://www.sundial.so/ (opens in a new window)⁠[5][7]

Sequoia Capital: Official website: https://www.sequoiacap.com/ (opens in a new window)⁠[5]

Meta: Official website: https://about.meta.com/ (opens in a new window)⁠[8]

Sources

  1. Facebook director Narayanan speaks (opens in a new window)
  2. Next month: Meet the UD oceanographer who went on to run analytics at Facebook (opens in a new window)
  3. Former Facebook Execs Launch Advisory Firm To Help Companies Scale (opens in a new window)
  4. 20Growth: Top Five Lessons from Leading Analytics at Facebook and Data Science at Sequoia Capital, the Two Skills Required to Do Analytics Well, the Three Types of Execs Within Companies and When and How to Hire for Growth with Chandra Narayanan (opens in a new window)
  5. Chandra Narayanan (opens in a new window)
  6. Facebook VP of Product Design Julie Zhuo Leaving After 14 Years (opens in a new window)
  7. Sundial Raises $23M to Redefine Data-informed Decisions with AI (opens in a new window)
  8. Exclusive: Meta acquires AI data platform Sundial (opens in a new window)