Gener8 raises £5.1m in funding led by private investors to expand its data monetisation platform.
The £5.1m financing values the personal data platform at £30m and includes backing from high-profile figures such as Chris Gayle.
Gener8 operates a free application that enables users to control, monitor, and monetise their online data. Based in London, the company provides tools to track and exchange personal digital footprints for real-world rewards.
Gener8 has secured £5.1m in a new funding round that values the data monetisation platform at £30m. The capital was raised from a consortium of backers, including former West Indies cricket captain Chris Gayle, former British Olympic Association chief executive Simon Clegg CBE, and investor Shane Ryan.
The fresh injection of capital follows the rollout of the company's new mobile application, which allows users to inspect the data held on them by third-party services and choose whether to delete, anonymise, or earn from it. Previous backers, such as musician Tinie Tempah, football manager Harry Redknapp, and several Dragons' Den entrepreneurs, also hold stakes in the enterprise.
Founder Sam Jones noted that the business aims to position itself as a trusted custodian for personal data, drawing a parallel to how consumers rely on banks to manage finances. The enterprise previously gained traction with a desktop browser extension that attracted hundreds of thousands of registered accounts.
From the founder
"We believe Gener8 is the first company in the world to enable people to centralise their data into one location and earn from it. We’ve built something that, until now, has only been theoretical in the world of academia"
Sam Jones
Founder at Gener8
Investor perspective
"It’s madness what happens with our online data, I didn’t have a clue how many companies were making money from us…did you?! When I met Sam and he explained how much we’re being taken for a ride, and the profits so many companies I’ve never even heard of are making, I knew he was onto something. We’re being taken advantage of. Others are making millions whilst we make nothing – and most of us don’t even know it’s happening. Come on, let’s change that!"
Chris Gayle
Chris Gayle