Data sharing in businesses is broken and current mechanisms are not secure, resulting in data breaches, insider threats, ransomware attacks and unauthorized access. Addressing this impasse, data analytics startup Blockfenders announced a $1.5m pre-seed funding round from institutional and angel investors to remedy the problem and enable businesses to achieve their goals.
Blockfenders has removed the burden on IT and data engineering teams to enable complete data sharing with its enterprise-grade, no-code platform in a zero-trust environment while preserving data privacy. It combines blockchain, cloud and distributed ledger technologies (DLT) like Hedera and Hyperledger to create an enterprise data exchange network that simplifies fine-grained and controlled data exchange among multiple parties without revealing raw data.
Without any code and using the Blockfenders user interface, companies can establish data exchange channels with their internal or external partners so they share data securely and granularly with zero trust from any data source including databases, data warehouses and other data platforms.
Zero trust which is central to Blockfenders enables protecting the actual data resource instead of the perimeter of security, adds tamper-evident data verifiability and lineage, and allows data owners to control on-demand or scheduled data access using smart contracts and a cryptography-based passwordless access control. It automates data workflows and expedites transparent data agreements. Blockfenders minimize liabilities associated with data sharing using end-to-end encryption, tamper proof ness of raw data and increase data utility at 80 percent lower costs.
Blockfenders co-founder & CEO Viraj Phanse said, “Data sharing has been limited to direct access to data sources, data views, APIs, sending data via emails and ETLing. Each of these mechanisms are resource intensive, cost prohibitive and technically complex to implement, thus increasing the dependency on IT and data engineering teams. Because of failing data-sharing methods that result in increasing data liabilities, CIOs, CISOs and Chief Data Officers are unable to unlock the true potential of data and maximize its business value. Consequently, zettabytes of enterprise data are locked, siloed and kept inaccessible leading to failed digital transformation initiatives. In spite of spending millions of dollars on cybersecurity and data management, organizations are unable to prevent attacks that cause a lot of brand and reputation damage.”
Blockfenders has gained traction for its approach with internal and external partners. The company has attracted two major industry players in the United States, including a digital health company in the eye care industry and a global employee engagement platform provider. Both partners are undergoing proof of concept and pilots. Blockfenders also has seen keen interest from two global banks for secure data sharing.
The funding round saw participation from investors including Blume Ventures, Together Fund, Veda VC, Behind Genius Ventures, Better Capital, Arka Venture Labs, Global Devc, FortyTwo, Eximius, GSF Fund, Pointone, Upsparks, and industry leaders like founder and chairman of Persistent Systems, Dr. Anand Deshpande, engineering leader at Microsoft, Rashid Mayes, founder and CEO at IndiaMart.com, Dinesh Agarwal, COO at IndiaMart.com, Dinesh Gulati, investor and sports presenter/producer, Gaurav Kapur, General Partner at Wagmi Ventures, Henry Zitou, and CEO and joint MD at Nazara Technology, Nitish Mittersain.