Partially Derivative
Partially Derivative was an independent weekly podcast about data science covering AI, machine learning, and statistics, produced by hosts Chris Albon, Jonathon Morgan, and Vidya Spandana from 2016 until its final episode on September 5, 2017.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- Headquarters—
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Partially Derivative does
Partially Derivative was a privately-held independent podcast media company founded in 2016, producing a weekly audio show about data science hosted by Chris Albon, Jonathon Morgan, and Vidya Spandana. The show covered artificial intelligence, machine learning, deep learning, statistics, the Python/Jupyter ecosystem, and data science careers, positioning itself as "Car Talk for the data community" — a conversational alternative to more academic sources. Its only documented product was the audio feed itself, distributed globally via FeedBurner RSS and standard podcast directories to a reported audience of tens of thousands of tech-savvy professionals including CTOs, data scientists, analysts, and software developers.
The business model was advertising-led, with sponsorships sold directly to enterprise B2B advertisers targeting the data professional audience (identified sponsors included Veera and O'Reilly Media, the latter via a JupyterCon episode offering a 20% ticket discount). Go-to-market was hybrid: a community-led motion anchored by the podcast and the co-founded Data for Democracy initiative, layered with event-driven sponsorships at conferences such as JupyterCon. The company had 1-10 employees, no disclosed funding or formal corporate structure, and was run directly by its three hosts.
Production ran across the documented June–September 2017 window and ceased with the September 5, 2017 episode "End Of Era," which the hosts described as the last episode "for now." No subsequent episodes, hires, product launches, or revival signals appear in the available source material; the operating status is effectively closed.
Partially Derivative firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Partially Derivative
- Legal name
- Partially Derivative
- Website
- https://partiallyderivative.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Closed
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Partially Derivative was an independent weekly podcast about data science covering AI, machine learning, and statistics, produced by hosts Chris Albon, Jonathon Morgan, and Vidya Spandana from 2016 until its final episode on September 5, 2017.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Partially Derivative industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Podcast Media
- NAICS
- Sound Recording Industries (5122), Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (516210), Sound Recording Studios (51224)
- SIC
- Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Podcast Networks & Multi-Show Publishers (MPACADAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Podcast Networks & Studio Platforms (MPAIADAC), Podcast Ad Sales Networks & Monetization Platforms (MPACADAD), Audio Learning Content (Podcasts, Audiobooks, Listening Programs) (EDAGALAM)
Keywords
Partially Derivative business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Podcast Sponsorships: The primary revenue stream is sponsoring individual podcast episodes. Sponsors include data-related companies like Veera (data synthesis platform) and O'Reilly Media. The podcast attracts tens of thousands of tech-savvy professionals including CTOs, tech executives, data scientists, and software developers.
- Event Sponsorships: Special sponsored episodes featuring event partners like JupyterCon (organized by O'Reilly Media). These episodes promote events and include coupon codes for ticket sales.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels4 records
Partially Derivative product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Partially Derivative produced and distributed a weekly podcast about data science hosted by Chris Albon, Jonathon Morgan, and Vidya Spandana, covering topics including artificial intelligence, deep learning, machine learning, statistics, and data science careers. The podcast attracted tens of thousands of data professionals and was monetized primarily through episode-level sponsorships from companies such as Veera and O'Reilly Media. The hosts also co-founded the Data for Democracy community for data professionals.
Product overview
Partially Derivative is a single unified podcast product focused on data science and AI content. The podcast episodes cover topics such as artificial intelligence, deep learning, machine learning, neural networks, statistics, and data science careers. The company operated a community initiative called 'Data for Democracy' and offered sponsorship opportunities. The show ran from June to September 2017 with weekly episodes featuring discussions with data science experts and coverage of current events in the AI/data science community.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Partially Derivative Podcast A weekly audio podcast about data science hosted by Chris Albon, Jonathon Morgan, and Vidya Spandana, covering artificial intelligence, machine learning, deep learning, statistics, and data science careers, targeted at data scientists, CTOs, and software developers.
Quantifiable outcome
- High audience engagement with direct demo requests and website traffic generated through podcast episodes
Companies that use Partially Derivative
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Partially Derivative technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Partially Derivative partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and regular.
- O'Reilly MediamajorO'Reilly Media sponsored a special JupyterCon episode. Partially Derivative promoted JupyterCon with a coupon code (PDPODCAST) offering 20% off most tickets. This partnership leverages the podcast audience to drive event attendance.
- Data for DemocracycorePartially Derivative co-founded Data for Democracy, a community for data professionals to find impactful projects and collaborate. This partnership represents the company's core community-building initiative.
- VeeraregularVeera is a data synthesis platform that sponsors multiple episodes of Partially Derivative. The sponsor describes the podcast as generating quick results with direct demo requests and referring website traffic. Check out Veera at GetVeera.com.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights3 records
Partially Derivative competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Talking Machines: An AI and machine learning podcast aimed at practitioners and researchers, comparable in audience (data scientists and ML practitioners), sponsorship model, and episode cadence to Partially Derivative.
- Linear Digressions: An independent data science podcast covering machine learning, statistics, and applied analytics with a conversational tone, directly comparable to Partially Derivative's approachable-but-technical positioning.
- Data Skeptic: A long-running data science and machine learning podcast featuring interviews and concept episodes aimed at technical practitioners — the closest direct competitor in format, audience, and topic coverage.
- The TWIML AI Podcast (formerly This Week in Machine Learning & AI): A leading ML/AI podcast featuring interviews with researchers and practitioners; directly comparable in target audience (data scientists, ML engineers, executives) and enterprise sponsorship model.
Broad incumbents
- O'Reilly Data Show: O'Reilly's data and AI podcast produced by an established media/training incumbent. Directly comparable audience (data professionals) and topic coverage, with broader portfolio scale and deeper sponsor integration than independent peers.
- Kaggle: A large data science community and competition platform that overlaps with the Data for Democracy community initiative and reaches the same data practitioner audience that Partially Derivative served.
- Gimlet Media: An established podcast network demonstrating the scale potential of the podcast advertising and event-sponsorship business model that independent shows like Partially Derivative pursue.
- Wondery: A major podcast network illustrating the broader market context for sponsorship-led audio content businesses and the scale benchmarks that small independent data podcasts like Partially Derivative are measured against.
Emerging players
- DataCamp: An online learning platform for data science and Python that overlaps with Partially Derivative's audience and educational mission, with sponsorship budgets directed at the same data practitioner persona.
- Notebook Academy / Jupyter Podcast ecosystem: Jupyter ecosystem podcasts and educational channels that overlap with Partially Derivative's Python/Jupyter topic coverage and its demonstrated event partnership with JupyterCon.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Partially Derivative social profiles
Digital presencePartially Derivative financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Partially Derivative leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Partially Derivative funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Partially Derivative M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Partially Derivative
What does Partially Derivative do?
Partially Derivative produced and distributed a weekly podcast about data science hosted by Chris Albon, Jonathon Morgan, and Vidya Spandana, covering topics including artificial intelligence, deep learning, machine learning, statistics, and data science careers. The podcast attracted tens of thousands of data professionals and was monetized primarily through episode-level sponsorships from companies such as Veera and O'Reilly Media. The hosts also co-founded the Data for Democracy community for data professionals.
Is Partially Derivative a public or private company?
Partially Derivative is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently closed.
When was Partially Derivative founded?
Partially Derivative was founded in 2016. It employs 1 to 10 people.
How does Partially Derivative make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Podcast Sponsorships are the primary driver. The others are event Sponsorships.
Who are Partially Derivative's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Talking Machines, Linear Digressions, Data Skeptic and The TWIML AI Podcast (formerly This Week in Machine Learning & AI). Broad incumbents are O'Reilly Data Show, Kaggle, Gimlet Media and Wondery. Emerging players are DataCamp and Notebook Academy / Jupyter Podcast ecosystem.
Does Partially Derivative have an API?
No public API is recorded for Partially Derivative.
What industry is Partially Derivative in?
Partially Derivative's product category is Podcast Media. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPACADAB, Podcast Networks & Multi-Show Publishers, with a secondary code of MPAIADAC, Podcast Networks & Studio Platforms. Its NAICS code is 5122 and its SIC code is 2721.