LocalGlobe leads EUR2.5m investment round in data privacy company Apheris

Submitted By Karin Wasteson | 21/08/2020 - 10:04am -

Berlin-based deep tech company Apheris has raised EUR2.5 million to enable companies to analyse data without compromising privacy.

UK-based seed investor LocalGlobe led the investment round with Dig Ventures, the family office of MuleSoft Founder, Ross Mason, and Patrick Pichette, former CFO of Google and current board chairman for Twitter.

Other investors that joined the round include System One, and angel investors Charles Songhurst, NaturalMotion founder Torsten Reil, and Songkick founder Ian Hogarth. 

Apheris was founded by Robin Röhm and Michael Höh in January 2019 and launched its product in September that year. Apheris has raised a total of more than EUR3.7million, including a StartupSecure research grant from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research for EUR750,000. 
 
Apheris uses decentralised computing, federated learning, and cryptographic protocols to preserve privacy and protect data in environments with zero or low trust.

“What this year has crystallised is that the world’s largest problems - from fighting pandemics and disease spread to developing life-saving drugs and reducing climate change - require collaborative efforts to solve", said Robin Röhm, Apheris CEO and co-founder, and added: "Access to the right data should not be the limiting factor to finding solutions and accelerating R&D and innovation."

Apheris’s customers are using the platform for drug discovery, new product R&D, and supply chain optimisation to improve business processes, put new products into production, and accelerate innovation. 
 
Ross Mason, founder of MuleSoft and Dig Ventures, commented: “Enterprises are sitting on treasure troves of data that cannot be leveraged because it’s been an impossible task to open up data to third-party companies without losing data or diminishing its value."

"Apheris is taking a novel approach to data collaboration, allowing data to be shared with partners with zero trust, enabling collaboration without giving up or compromising the data,” added Mason.

Tags Deals & Transactions Investments