A new six-figure funding round will accelerate the global roll-out of The Data City’s AI-driven data platform.
The funding comes from existing backers, Yorkshire-based venture capitalist firm Venturian. The deal values Leeds-based The Data City at £10m, the company said, just six years after it was founded.
The scale-up data company will use the funding to expand its team and support the expansion of its customer base globally. The platform offers access to 94 million companies, including the USA and Europe, underpinned by CreditSafe’s global financial company data.
Paul Connell, executive chair of The Data City, said: “This investment is a vital stepping stone in The Data City’s journey to becoming a global data as a service (DaaS) company which will be supported by a Series A funding round during 2025.”
The new global product represents the first time company data from the US and the rest of the world will be combined with The Data City’s Classification AI and proprietary real-time industrial classifications (RTICs).
Building on the success of its UK platform, which already comprises a database of over 5.3 million UK companies and 350 RTICs, the global platform will take the interface, data and functionality already familiar to its clients and combine it with an expanding global dataset across 11 core territories. The new platform now maps the global emerging economy, allowing governments and investors to direct policy and capital on an international scale.
Alex Craven, CEO of The Data City, added: “The investment comes after a landmark year for The Data City. The team achieved 100% growth year-on-year and achieved record profits. Our plan was always to take our data platform to a global audience, enabling decision makers to benefit from a real-time, AI-driven understanding of the world’s industries.”
The Data City is growing its team of data analysts and developers to build capacity and plans to strengthen its management team. It is also increasing the number of third-party data providers it works with to add to the insight capabilities of the platform and expects to create a minimum of five new jobs in the next 12 months.
Greg Allsopp, investment director at Venturian, said: “The Data City is changing the way companies and organisations use data to inform the decisions that matter. It has quickly established itself as a respected data partner in the UK and is ready to take the next step in its global expansion. We are pleased to be a part of that journey and work with a talented management team.”
The Data City platform provides real-time company data on emerging economic sectors. It uses AI technology to gather data from various sources, including open data sets and company financials to help users make discoveries quickly and easily. Researchers, policymakers, and investors use it to access real-time data on dynamic sectors and the companies operating within them. The Data City works with global businesses, including The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), Lloyds Banking Group and The Royal Academy of Engineering.
The core global offer now includes data and company records across the world’s key economic territories, including the USA (40.2 million companies), France (13 million companies) and Germany (12 million companies), with 13 million companies matched to URL.
The development of the Data City’s global platform has been driven by client demand and launched following trials with a number of clients. As part of the company’s ongoing growth strategy, forthcoming features already in development include the classification of Dun and Bradstreet data, giving access to 500m+ companies worldwide.
