Unlocking value from siloed data - Why we invested in Roseman Labs

After announcing our investment in Roseman Labs 2 weeks ago, we wanted to shed some light on why we are excited about the company and how it fits in our view of the world.

Why this matters

It has become almost a cliché that data is essential to our modern economies and society. They are directionally true, but the messy reality is that most data sits in organisational siloes, either because it exposes personal information or constitutes a competitive advantage. Several companies that are direct competitors do not usually want to share their data with each other, though it might make sense for them or 3rd parties to do so.

This is where Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs) come into use, providing ways to make use of data while ensuring data is used both responsibly and ethically. Some of PETs that have gained prominence are Federated Learning (FL), Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE), Trusted Execution Environments (TEE), or Secure Multi-Party Computation (SMPC).

The adoption of PETs cannot be overstated and we think they will hold the key to solving some very large problems across many sectors. Moreover, in a world where data-driven decisions are the norm, ensuring the privacy and security of data is not just an ethical obligation but also a legal one. Regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) have set stringent standards for data protection, generating tailwinds for PETs. Gartner projects that 60% of enterprises globally will have integrated PETs into their operational strategies in the next years. This anticipated growth isn't just about compliance; it's indicative of a maturing market where businesses see the intrinsic value of PETs and develop new use cases, previously seen as impossible.

At Matterwave Ventures , we've recognized the significance of these technologies for quite some time. After delving into the intricacies of the different PETs, we've come to understand that there's no one-size-fits-all solution. Each technology presents its own set of trade-offs in terms of security, computational and communication complexity, flexibility, and scalability. We believe that Roseman Labs' approach to MPC scores best overall, bypassing the need for dedicated hardware, offering strong security guarantees rooted in well-studied cryptographic foundation, and great scalability to large networks.

Why Roseman Labs

From our first interactions with the Roseman Labs team, we got the sense that they have a very strong foundation and are building something special. Founded in Utrecht in 2020 by Roderick Rodenburg (CEO), Toon Segers (COO), and Niek J. Bouman (CTO), they have assembled a team of 20 people that is technically world-class and customer-focused. It combines expertise in cryptography (six PhDs in this field, specializing in various aspects of MPC), product, DevOps, strategy, and legal. When we visited them in Utrecht, we were impressed with their level of ambition and expertise.

Their flagship offering, built on top of solid state-of-the-art cryptography, is the Virtual Data Lake (VDL). It enables multiple parties to load data sets and run data analyses using MPC cryptography, all while preserving the privacy of the underlying data and controlling the access to the results. It brings together usability and performance, and can be interacted with through a Python-based interface that feels familiar to data scientists and users without prior cryptographic knowledge.

Roseman Labs' platform technology has applications across a broad range of industries - manufacturing, healthcare, energy, semiconductors, financial services, public services etc. For example, energy grid operators can process individual smart meter data with MPC to improve grid management, which has not been possible so far due to legal restrictions.

With a clear value proposition, Roseman Labs has been able to work with reputable organizations like the Dutch National Cyber Security Center, IQVIA, Stedin, and many more. This is an endorsement of their technological superiority and of the fact that they not only meet privacy and security standards, but also offer a scalable solution.

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Going forward

We have participated in Roseman Labs' €4 million seed funding round alongside our friends at Spacewalk VC and NP-Hard Ventures . The company will use the fuel to hire key roles, develop their product further, and drive the international expansion.

With MPC performance and usability improving substantially in the last years, we believe that it's the right time to be broadly adopted across all industries. When it becomes feasible to link and analyse data sets in a privacy-preserving way, massive value can be unlocked. Roseman Labs has the right team and product to spearhead this historical shift and we're proud to back them on their mission!

For more information?about Roseman Labs check out their website:? www.rosemanlabs.com

Feel free to reach out to us Benedikt Kronberger Silviu Apostu or Eduardo Martinez Mari?o if you are interested to learn more about Matterwave Ventures or you would like to get in touch with the Roseman Labs team.