Data privacy startup Osano secures $25M funding boost

Dive Brief:

Osano, provider of a data privacy management platform, said Thursday that it raised $25 million in a Series B funding round as the company seeks to expand its footprint in a growing industry.
The funding boost will allow the Austin, Texas-based startup — whose platform is designed to help companies ensure compliance with data privacy requirements across legal jurisdictions — to beef up multiple departments, including engineering, product development and sales, among other initiatives, according to a press release.
“With this raise, we are doubling down in the space and ensuring that our vision and mission revolve around helping enterprises keep up with the constantly changing laws and regulations,” Osano CEO Arlo Gilbert said in the release.

Dive Insight:

Currently, the U.S. doesn’t have a comprehensive federal privacy law. Instead, companies in the U.S. face a patchwork of privacy laws and regulations at the federal and state levels. In addition, global companies may need to comply with overseas privacy laws such as the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation.

Last year, the French Data Protection Authority imposed a fine of 20 million euros on U.S. facial recognition company Clearview AI for failing to comply with requirements under the EU’s GDPR.

The challenge of keeping pace with such a complex web of requirements is fueling business demand for data privacy management tools, according to a report published earlier this year by Fortune Business Insights. The global data privacy software market size was valued at about $2 billion last year and is projected to reach $30.31 billion by 2030, the study said.

Osano, founded in 2018, has seen triple-digit growth in its customer base and a 126% increase in platform utilization over the past year, according to the company’s Thursday release. The company’s platform currently has over 40,000 users.

To date, Osano has raised $44.4 million, a spokesperson said. The latest funding round was led by Baird Capital, a Chicago-based venture capital firm.