UK-Based Hazy Raises $9 Million to Expand Synthetic Data Solutions

Hazy has raised $9 million in Series A funding for its synthetic data solutions.

The London-based firm uses artificial intelligence (AI)-generated synthetic data with no real information to replace real data, thereby eliminating privacy risks while preserving statistical quality. The data is used in AI and machine learning (ML) development, software testing and data commercialization, Hazy said in a Tuesday (March 28) press release.

“Hazy has been working in the generative AI field since our inception in 2017 and we are excited to see where the space goes,” Hazy Co-founder and CEO Harry Keen said in the release. “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 U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has identified synthetic data as a tool that could help smaller firms to better compete with incumbents in financial services innovation.

“Synthetic data is a privacy-preserving technique that could open up more opportunities for data sharing by generating statistically realistic, but ‘artificial’ data, that is readily accessible,” the FCA said in 2022.

Because synthetic data simulates real data without identifying specific individuals, it does not fall under data protection obligations such as the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Hazy said in its press release that by overcoming the challenges of data accessibility, usability and privacy, synthetic data can help enterprises unlock $3 trillion of annual economic value that is currently trapped in data.

The company’s new funding will enable it to continue growing in the banking and telecom sectors in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States, according to the press release.

“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 at UCL Technology Fund, which participated in the latest funding round, said in the release. “This raise enables them to scale the great traction they have developed and we are delighted to continue to support them on their journey.”