Hazy raises $9m to power synthetic data usage in enterprises
London, UK – 28th March: Leading synthetic data disruptor, Hazy, announced today that it has raised $9 million in Series A funding. The investment is led by Conviction, with participation from UCL Technology Fund, M12 (Microsoft), Wells Fargo, Nationwide Building Society, ACT Venture Partners, Terra VC, Evenlode, Logo Ventures, Sarus Ventures and Neva SGR, the Intesa Sanpaolo bank venture capital company.
There is $3 trillion annual economic value trapped in data. Data accessibility, usability and privacy are some key challenges that limit or completely block enterprises working with their data assets. Founded in 2017, Hazy is built on the belief that privacy by design should not slow down innovation. Originally a UCL AI spin out, London-based Hazy uses AI-generated smart synthetic data that preserves the statistical quality of the real data but contains no real information and therefore eliminates the privacy risk. Hazy’s synthetic data can be used as a drop-in replacement for real data with AI/ML development, software testing and data commercialisation use cases.
Hazy’s meteoric rise began with winning the $1 million Microsoft Innovate AI prize for the best AI startup in Europe, and has gone from strength to strength since. Customers include Nationwide Building Society, Vodafone Group and Wells Fargo. This raise will enable Hazy to continue to grow within the banking and telecom sectors in the UK, Europe and the US.
“The response from businesses to the capabilities of synthetic data has been huge. Enabling our customers to access and actually use their data unlocks real commercial value... we're very excited to be right at the forefront of the synthetic data revolution."
Harry Keen, Co-founder & CEO, Hazy
Harry Keen, Co-Founder and CEO, Hazy said: “The response from businesses to the capabilities of synthetic data has been huge. Enabling our customers to access and actually use their data unlocks real commercial value. Hazy has been working in the generative AI field since our inception in 2017 and we are excited to see where the space goes. This funding will solidify our position as the leading synthetic data provider for enterprises to unlock value through their data and enable us to explore the greater potential of generative AI to produce real results for businesses, with no privacy limitations.
The rise of generative AI has the potential to revolutionise industries, transform the way businesses operate and realise huge commercial gain. At Hazy we’re developing our product based on this technology and we’re working on an exciting new product initiative that is going to enhance our current offering by harnessing some of the latest developments with Large Language Models.
Gartner predicts that by 2024, 60% of the data used for AI and analytics will be synthetic, and we’re very excited to be right at the forefront of the synthetic data revolution.”
Will Orde, Partner, Conviction comments: “With generative AI pushing technology into a realm thought to be unique to the human mind, there’s never been a more exciting time for a company like Hazy to remain at the forefront of such innovation. Harry and the team have demonstrated immense motivation and potential since the start, with some great achievements to date and an impressive product that enables enterprise firms to unlock the incredible amount of value from their data. We are delighted to partner with them for the next stage of their exciting journey.”
David Grimm, Investment Director UCL Technology Fund: said: “Generative AI has only recently exploded onto everyone’s radar, but Hazy has been pioneering the use of this type of AI to keep personal data safe for some time now. This raise enables them to scale the great traction they have developed and we are delighted to continue to support them on their journey.”
"Generative AI has only recently exploded onto everyone’s radar, but Hazy has been pioneering the use of this type of AI to keep personal data safe for some time now.
David Grimm, Investment Director UCL Technology Fund