Privitar, the data-privacy software company, announced it has closed a $40 million Series B funding round led by global venture capital firm Accel, with participation from existing investors Partech Partners, Salesforce Ventures, 24Haymarket and IQ Capital.
The investment strengthens the company’s leadership position in the global data-privacy market. Seth Pierrepont, partner at Accel, will join Privitar’s board of directors.
Data privacy is now top of mind. Following high-profile events like the Equifax breach and the Cambridge Analytica scandal, consumers around the world are increasingly concerned with how enterprises are handling their personal data. Additionally, regulation and consumer rights around data protection is growing, with the introduction of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe and California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in California.
Privitar will use the investment to accelerate the development of its privacy engineering products, providing a comprehensive set of capabilities that will enable its customers to publish and share valuable data-driven insights in an efficient, trustworthy, and compliant way. Its customers include some of the world’s best-known brands, such as HSBC, the UK’s National Health Service and BT.
Jason du Preez, Privitar's CEO said: “The world is increasingly aware of the importance of protecting private information and privacy engineering is becoming intrinsic to the way organizations manage and share data.
“This investment will enable us to scale rapidly in response to global demand and help our customers realise the enormous benefits of data-driven decision making, much faster and with less risk.”
Seth Pierrepont from Accel added: “There has been a noticeable increase in enterprises’ appetite for buying data privacy technology in recent years. Through the team’s deep domain expertise and close ties to academia, Privitar has positioned itself as a thought leader in privacy innovation. We’re excited to be joining Privitar on its mission of becoming the standard for enterprise data privacy.”
The company is well positioned as an emerging leader in this category and has seen huge demand for its products as organizations seek the latest technology to analyse their data safely, and with the utmost respect for the individual. Across industries, from banks seeking to improve customer service while protecting personal financial information to healthcare providers seeking to improve clinical outcomes while protecting patient data, it is essential for organizations to harness the power of data, while maintaining the trust they have with their customers.
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About Privitar
Privitar provides data-privacy software to companies and public sector organizations around the world to protect sensitive data and enable the safe and ethical use of data for insight. Privitar was established in 2014 with headquarters in London. The business expanded overseas in 2018 and 2019, opening offices in New York, Boston, Paris, Munich and Singapore.
Privitar raised $16m in a Series A funding round in July 2017, with support from existing investors IQ Capital, 24 Haymarket and Illuminate Financial and new funding from Partech Ventures, CME Ventures and Salesforce Ventures.
Privitar hosts an annual community event -In:Confidence- with luminary privacy experts and commentators and contributes regularly to the public discourse on privacy matters. You can read and subscribe to the latest news and opinions from Privitar here.
About Accel
Accel is a leading venture capital firm that partners with exceptional founders with unique insights, from inception through all phases of private company growth. Atlassian, Algolia, Avito, Celonis, Cloudera, Crowdstrike, Deliveroo, DJI, Dropbox, Etsy, Facebook, Flipkart, Funding Circle, Kayak, Kry, QlikTech, Rovio, Slack, Spotify, Supercell, UIPath and WorldRemit are among the companies the firm has backed over the past 35+ years. The firm seeks to understand entrepreneurs as individuals, appreciate their originality and play to their strengths. Because greatness doesn't have a stereotype. For more, visit www.accel.com, www.facebook.com/accel or www.twitter.com/accel.
Salesforce Ventures
Salesforce is the fastest growing top five enterprise software company and the #1 CRM provider globally. Salesforce Ventures—the company’s corporate investment group—invests in the next generation of enterprise technology that extends the power of the Salesforce Customer Success Platform, helping companies connect with their customers in entirely new ways. Portfolio companies receive funding as well as access to the world’s largest cloud ecosystem and the guidance of Salesforce’s innovators and executives. With Salesforce Ventures, portfolio companies can also leverage Salesforce's expertise in corporate philanthropy by joining Pledge 1% to make giving back part of their business model. Salesforce Ventures has invested in more than 300 enterprise cloud startups in 20 different countries since 2009. For more information, please visit www.salesforce.com/ventures.