Technology

Posted on September 27, 2018 by staff

Blockchain tech start-up hails ‘landmark’ £5m deal

Technology

A UK tech start-up behind a blockchain platform for enterprise data has secured a £5 million investment from two venture capital investors.

London-based Gospel Technology describes itself as an enterprise data security platform that creates “a fabric of trust for secure data collaboration”.

The company’s solution has been praised as the “first practical enterprise application of blockchain” as it addresses one of the “thorniest challenges” in the digital economy – how to securely enable the usage and exchange of data without impacting business performance.

Using a ledger, it allows businesses to securely share data between both employees within the enterprise and enterprises in supply chains and partnerships.

The series A investment came from IA Ventures and Salesforce Ventures and follows previous seed and angel funding from LocalGlobe in February 2018.

“Having IA Ventures and Salesforce Ventures join us at this point in our journey is an honour and extremely exciting,” said CEO and founder Ian Smith, the entrepreneur behind data analysis and migration company Butterfly Software, which was successfully acquired by IBM in 2012.

“IA Ventures are renowned for investing in positively disruptive start-ups and Salesforce is a true innovator and leader, bringing SaaS technology into the enterprise landscape.

“That mindset and ability to execute aligns with our strategy and ambitions, and we look forward to working together to grow our product and blockchain’s impact in the enterprise.”

Gospel Technology will use the investment to expand its sales, marketing and partner programmes. It will also continue developing its data collaboration platform and integration across existing and new applications and infrastructure.

Roger Ehrenberg from IA Ventures said blockchain can “radically transform” the way that organisations will collaborate and share data, resulting in improved innovation and productivity.

“We are looking forward to seeing how the Gospel value proposition matures and how the company acts on its vision for businesses across the world,” he added.