We show how to approximate a data matrix $mathbf{A}$ with a much smaller sketch $mathbf{tilde A}$ that can be used to solve a general class of constrained k-rank approximation problems to within $(1+epsilon)$ error. Importantly, this class of problems includes $k$-means clustering and unconstrained low rank approximation (i.e. principal component analysis). By reducing data points to just $O(k)$ dimensions, our methods generically accelerate any exact, approximate, or heuristic algorithm for these ubiquitous problems. For $k$-means dimensionality reduction, we provide $(1+epsilon)$ relative error results for many common sketching techniques, including random row projection, column selection, and approximate SVD. For approximate principal component analysis, we give a simple alternative to known algorithms that has applications in the streaming setting. Additionally, we extend recent work on column-based matrix reconstruction, giving column subsets that not only `cover a good subspace for $bv{A}$, but can be used directly to compute this subspace. Finally, for $k$-means clustering, we show how to achieve a $(9+epsilon)$ approximation by Johnson-Lindenstrauss projecting data points to just $O(log k/epsilon^2)$ dimensions. This gives the first result that leverages the specific structure of $k$-means to achieve dimension independent of input size and sublinear in $k$.
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