Deeptech

Q2 202427.05.2024

Data

Picture of Federico Scolari

Federico Scolari

at Sifted

As light hearted as the phrases “data is the new oil” and “in god we trust, but all others must bring data" are, the importance of data cannot be overstated: it is the competitive advantage across all tech verticals. There’s no shortage of information out there, but an effective data strategy enables companies to actually leverage it.

That being said, data is nothing without a purpose — just like oil without engines — and startups have caught onto that early on. Between mining, scraping, structuring and deployment, only a few tech companies can afford to build expensive in-house data strategies to scale their products. That’s where the data masters come into action, breaking lengthy hiring cycles for specialised tech teams by handing over the keys to their integratable data machines.

The most successful startups have two factors in common: flexibility in cross-vertical applications — particularly health, fintech and climate — and proprietary tech for foundational models. Companies developing foundational tech rather than industry-specific tools or third-party wrappers have a far more defensible moat, as they have the necessary ammunition to help others around them scale, not just themselves.

The AI dominance in the field is already self-evident, and expectedly so. Open AI’s Sam Altman pointed out that “we will soon see the first one person $1bn business”, which may not be that far from the truth. Data startups are set to make teams leaner and processes more efficient. Bubble or not, there’s little else that we know we’ll certainly be talking about for years to come.

20 startups to watch

Sifted score
9.27
-
CASAFARI
Strong investor(s)
Serial founder(s)
Hiring
- Year founded
  2018
- HQ
  Lisbon, Portugal
- Latest round
  Series A
  €30m / Nov 2021
- Total funding
  €25m
View company profile
Sifted score
8.45
-
Apheris AI
Secure collaboration without sharing data.
Strong investor(s)
Serial founder(s)
Hiring
- Year founded
  2019
- HQ
  Berlin, Germany
- Latest round
  Seed
  €8.7m / Nov 2022
- Total funding
  €11.2m
View company profile
Sifted score
7.83
-
Bitfount
Strong investor(s)
Serial founder(s)
- Year founded
  2020
- HQ
  London, United Kingdom
- Latest round
  Seed
  €4.5m / May 2022
- Total funding
  €4.5m
View company profile
Sifted score
7.45
-
Onum
Strong investor(s)
Serial founder(s)
- Year founded
  2022
- HQ
  Villaviciosa de Odón, Spain
- Latest round
  Series A
  €25.4m / Apr 2024
- Total funding
  €37.0m
View company profile
Sifted score
7.3
-
Oriole Networks
Serial founder(s)
- Year founded
  2023
- HQ
  London, United Kingdom
- Latest round
  Seed
  €12m / Mar 2024
- Total funding
  €12m
View company profile

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