Collibra, a data governance software spinout of VUB, has closed a $58m series D round to accelerate its expansion plans and product development.
Collibra, a US-based data governance and catalogue software producer spun out of Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), closed a $58m series D round on Monday co-led by Iconiq Capital and Battery Ventures.
Dawn Capital, Index Ventures and Newion Investments also contributed to the round, which increased the company’s overall funding to approximately $134m.
Collibra has developed technology to allow relevant employees in an organisation to understand the origin of specific data, how reliable it is and how best to extract commercial value. It targets sectors such as healthcare, retail, manufacturing and financial services.
The platform also automates data governance, helping firms comply with regulations such as the EU’s upcoming General Data Protection Regulation, which will restrict the way personally identifiable data can be used, carrying large fines for non-compliant businesses.
The technology is based on work conducted by three researchers at VUB’s Semantics Technology and Applications Research Laboratory: Felix Van de Maele, Stijn Christiaens and Pieter De Leenheer.
The funding will go toward a recruitment drive, global expansion efforts, an acceleratio in product development and the forging of strategic partnerships.
Data intelligence-as-a-service provider BI3 Solutions and Brustart, a venture capital arm of Brussels municipal government-owned Société régionale d’investissement de Bruxelles, supplied €1.2m ($1.8m) in seed funding for Collibra in 2008.
Newion then invested $1.3m in the company in 2012, before Index Ventures led a $23m series B round in 2015 that included Dawn Capital.
Iconiq Capital subsequently led Collibra’s $50m series C round, which included Battery Ventures, Dawn Capital, Index Ventures and Newion Investments, in January 2017.
– A version of this article first appeared on our sister site, Global Corporate Venturing.
