Many organizations currently possess substantial amounts of data gathered through their operations and are now exploring opportunities to share this information with external parties to broaden their reach. This approach presents certain difficulties, notably concerning privacy and data security, but is gaining momentum—particularly in light of the increased digital transformation spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic—and offers significant potential benefits when executed effectively.

Harbr, a recently established London-based startup, has developed a secure platform designed to facilitate large-scale data exchange and is announcing a significant new funding round to capitalize on this growing demand.

The company has secured $38.5 million in a Series A funding round, just half a year after its initial launch. These funds will be allocated to expanding the team to accommodate a growing customer base and to further investment in research and development.

This funding round was co-led by Dawn Capital and Tiger Global Management, with participation from existing investors including Mike Chalfen, Boldstart Ventures, Crane Venture Partners, Backed, and Seedcamp. Additionally, UiPath founder and CEO Daniel Dines and head of strategy Brandon Deer contributed to the round. Harbr’s total funding now exceeds $50 million, though the company has not disclosed its valuation.

Founded in 2017, Harbr operated in stealth mode until earlier this year, in May. Like many enterprise-focused startups, the company prioritized extensive product development before public release. Harbr proactively engaged with businesses to identify their specific requirements and built its platform accordingly, ensuring a commercially viable product with existing customers upon launch.

“In 2017, the concept of enterprise data exchanges wasn’t widely discussed,” explained Anthony Cosgrove, Harbr’s CSO and co-founder alongside CEO Gary Butler, in an interview. “We collaborated with large organizations to understand their needs and developed Harbr based on those insights.”

Harbr’s clientele includes companies in the financial and professional services sectors, such as Moody’s Analytics and WinterCorp, as well as governmental entities. Cosgrove highlighted that approximately 99% of Harbr’s customers are located in the United States, where the company’s chairman, Leo Spiegel, is based. Spiegel also serves as an investor and brings considerable experience in enterprise data services.

“This team has a long history of collaboration,” Spiegel stated in an interview. “Gary and I have worked together for two decades prior to Harbr. I have extensive experience in the data field and maintain strong relationships with U.S. companies.” (This established team dynamic is a contributing factor to the substantial funding secured by the startup at this early stage.)

Cosgrove, a recipient of an MBE, has a professional background in banking and previously served in the U.K. government.

The platform enables organizations to leverage data already stored in data lakes and warehouses, which they currently utilize for analytics and business intelligence. The goal is to prepare and secure this data for exchange with other internal divisions or external partners. This involves establishing a secure environment, providing tools for third-party access, and potentially creating a data marketplace.

While Cosgrove doesn’t position Harbr primarily as a security company, he acknowledges the increasing importance of data protection—often exceeding the need for mere usability. Protecting data as valuable intellectual property is paramount, alongside considerations of privacy and data regulations.

These concerns have evolved from secondary considerations to top priorities, and in many cases, are now legally mandated. Consequently, companies seeking to capitalize on the potential of big data while upholding these principles are turning to companies built with privacy and data protection at their core.

“Our primary focus is on empowering organizations to treat data as a product. They can bring their assets onto our platform and transform them into easily consumable, usable, and integrable data products,” Cosgrove explained. “We view security as an inherent outcome of this approach: it must be integrated into the process.” The name “Harbr” is a deliberate reference to “Harbor,” evoking the concept of safe harbor principles and regulations.

Harbr is not alone in pursuing this opportunity. InfoSum, also based in the U.K., is developing a privacy-first platform for federated data, enabling data sharing without compromising data protection. DataFleets, located in the Bay Area, is another startup offering solutions to help enterprises navigate this challenge and opportunity.

“To unlock the full potential of data, we require greater automation and collaboration. Currently, significant human effort is dedicated to locating and preparing data, diverting resources from high-value activities that drive productivity,” stated Evgenia Plotnikova, partner at Dawn Capital, in a press release. “Harbr is at the forefront of companies transforming this landscape, and we are thrilled to partner with them. Feedback from customers indicates that Harbr’s enterprise data exchange is transformative, and their engagement with Fortune 1000 companies validates this.”