Question 1

Doesn't Snowflake compete with AtScale now that Semantic Views ship?

Accepted Answer

No. Snowflake Semantic Views define metrics inside the warehouse. AtScale carries those same definitions to every BI tool, AI agent, and downstream system the customer also uses - governed, identically, with one definition of truth. Snowflake Ventures led AtScale's last strategic equity round; the partnership is on the record. Cortex Analyst gets stronger when AtScale is the semantic layer behind it.

Question 2

We already have a semantic layer in our BI tool. Why do we need AtScale?

Accepted Answer

Power BI, Tableau, and Looker each ship a tool-specific semantic layer. None of them are universal - they only govern their own tool. The moment a Cortex agent, a Claude agent, or an Excel user asks the same question, the answers diverge. AtScale is the universal layer that sits above Cortex and below everything else, so the same revenue number lands in every tool.

Question 3

What is AtScale's relationship with Snowflake?

Accepted Answer

Snowflake embeds the AtScale engine directly inside Snowflake Semantic Views - AtScale makes Snowflake Semantic Views available to Power BI and Excel without moving data out of Snowflake. Beyond that, Snowflake Ventures led AtScale's last strategic equity round in February 2026. The partnership is strategic, not just commercial. Harsha Kapre, Head of Snowflake Ventures, stated: "As organizations continue to centralize data in Snowflake, partnering with AtScale helps our joint customers maintain consistent business logic and semantic definitions throughout their analytics and AI workflows."

Question 4

What are the two AtScale editions and how do I choose?

Accepted Answer

AtScale ships in two editions that share one semantic foundation. AtScale for Semantic Views is a Snowflake Native App - one DDL command, billed through Snowflake. Start here when Snowflake is the primary warehouse and the use case begins with Cortex Analyst or Power BI. AtScale Enterprise is the same semantic foundation extended to every BI tool (Tableau, Excel, Looker), every AI agent (Claude, ChatGPT, custom MCP agents), and every warehouse (Databricks, BigQuery, Redshift, on-prem). No rip-and-replace. No migration.

Question 5

How does AtScale work with Snowflake Semantic Views?

Accepted Answer

AtScale synchronizes Snowflake Semantic Views definitions automatically for XMLA access in Power BI and Excel. The definitions your team built inside the warehouse are now portable - they travel to Power BI, Tableau, Excel, and AI agents without redefinition. You keep the work your team has already done; AtScale extends its reach.

Question 6

Which BI tools does AtScale support on Snowflake?

Accepted Answer

AtScale supports any tool that speaks SQL or XMLA. That includes Power BI (DirectQuery and Live Connection), Tableau, Excel, Looker, ThoughtSpot, and any SQL-compatible analytics tool. Embedded AtScale supports Power BI and Excel. Enterprise AtScale extends to the full tool universe.

Question 7

How does AtScale affect Snowflake compute costs?

Accepted Answer

AtScale typically reduces Snowflake compute costs for BI workloads by 40-70%. The primary mechanism is aggregate caching - pre-computing common metrics so that dashboard queries serve from a cache instead of scanning large tables. Intelligent warehouse routing (sending complex queries to appropriately sized warehouses) further reduces costs while improving performance.

Question 8

How long does deployment take?

Accepted Answer

Embedded AtScale deploys from the Snowflake Marketplace with a single DDL command. From installation to first governed query is typically minutes to hours. Enterprise AtScale deployments vary based on the complexity of the semantic model being built, but customers typically have their first governed use case live within 2-4 weeks.

Question 9

Does AtScale require data migration?

Accepted Answer

No. AtScale connects to Snowflake (and any other warehouses in Enterprise edition) without moving data. Your data stays where it lives. AtScale creates a semantic layer on top of it - a governed definition layer, not a data store.

Question 10

How does AtScale work with CoCo specifically?

Accepted Answer

The XMLA Endpoint does not integrate directly with CoCo.

AtScale Enterprise can support CoCo through AtScale's MCP Server and SQL-based access patterns. CoCo sends natural language queries to AtScale's semantic layer, which resolves the business intent against governed metric definitions and generates optimized Snowflake SQL. The result: CoCo answers using the same business definitions as Power BI and every other tool in the stack - no divergence, no trust problems.

Question 11

What is the MCP-server capability in Enterprise AtScale?

Accepted Answer

Enterprise AtScale includes MCP (Model Context Protocol) server access that makes the semantic layer available to Claude, ChatGPT, and any custom AI agent built on the MCP standard. AI agents get governed business definitions - revenue, margin, customer segments - delivered via the MCP protocol. This is the architecture that makes AI agents trustworthy: they don't infer business meaning; they use the governed definition.

Capability	XMLA Endpoint	AtScale Enterprise for Snowflake
Primary use case	Extend Snowflake Semantic Views to Power BI and Excel	Govern metrics across BI, AI, and advanced analytics
Best fit	Snowflake customers using Semantic Views and Microsoft analytics	Teams with broader semantic layer needs
Deployment	Snowflake Native App — Enabled with CREATE XMLA DDL commands	Enterprise deployment with customer-managed options through Kubernetes
Semantic model	Snowflake Semantic Views	Snowflake Semantic Views plus Multidimensional semantic models via AtScale SML
BI tool support	Power BI and Excel	Power BI, Excel, Tableau, Looker, Google Sheets, and more
Microsoft support	Excel (Live MDX Connection), Power BI (Live DAX Connection)	Advanced Power BI, DAX, MDX, and calculation support
Security and governance	Snowflake RBAC passthrough; row/column-level security via Snowflake policies	Snowflake security plus semantic object RBAC and authoring permissions in SML
AI support	Supports Snowflake-native AI	Supports MCP, AI agents, BYO LLM, and multi-LLM strategies
Performance	Query acceleration for Power BI and Excel workloads	Autonomous aggregates and advanced workload optimization
Development workflow	Snowflake-native workflow	Git-backed, CI/CD-friendly semantic development

Governed Snowflake metrics, live in Power BI and Excel.

One semantic foundation. Zero migration.

What AtScale for Snowflake Semantic Views Enables

Extend Snowflake Semantic Views to Power BI and Excel

Keep data and compute in Snowflake

Preserve Snowflake governance

Deliver consistent answers

AtScale for Snowflake Semantic Views vs. AtScale Enterprise

When to Choose

XMLA Endpoint

AtScale Enterprise

AtScale for Snowflake Semantic Views vs. AtScale Enterprise

Questions? We've Got Answers.

Ready to govern your Snowflake semantics?