Promising privacy software firm Oblivious to use €5.3m funding to expand Dublin team

The firm, which completed a $1m (€932,000) seed round in 2021, closed a €5.3m funding round in April. Backers included Irish firms Atlantic Bridge and Act Venture Capital, Berlin-based Cavalry Ventures and a range of European and US venture capital funds.

Oblivious has created a technology which allows businesses to use large databases, without actually seeing the personal information of those the data belongs to.

“Data scientists are not interested in the individual, they’re interested in the aggregate. But we take it for granted that they need access to data on the individual as well, because that’s simply how data science works,” Pisarczyk told the Sunday Independent.

“We realised lots of valuable data which can be used for good is locked. [For example], medical data in public health organisations, which is some of the most sensitive data you have about individuals. If you’re using that data, there have to be strict guarantees that the information won’t be revealed.

“We build flexible tools for data scientists, so they can work on data without accessing a person’s personal information.”

Many of its customers include the likes of banks and fintech companies, which often work with large datasets, but have strict regulatory requirements, and so are wary of potential data breaches.

“Say you are a fintech offering software to a bank. Those banks say ‘we are using your product, but we can’t share information about our customers’. That’s where we fit in.”

The firm was started by Pisarczyk and Jack Fitzsimons, both Oxford PhD graduates.

Pisarczyk studied cryptography, the science of how information is hidden and protected, which looks at subjects such as ciphers and codes.

‘You’re potentially changing how data science is done, which is extremely satisfying’

“I was working on different projects with a research group in Singapore and I met Jack, who did a PhD in machine learning. We had some ideas about research on cryptography and data science.

“I thought we could spend some time getting a few more papers out, but if we really believed we could change the way people interact with data, let’s build tools for data scientists.

“I never thought I wanted to set up a business [but] I was interested in solving problems which were practical.”

Dublin was chosen as the headquarters as Fitzsimons was already based there and Pisarczyk was “flexible”, and Oblivious was launched in 2020. The firm now employs 16 people, with most of these at its Dublin base.

“There are good things about remote work, but we try to come together every six weeks and work together,” Pisarczyk said.

Oblivious is set to grow to 25 people by the end of the year, using its fundraise to hire top technical staff.

“We will be building the team on the development side as we’re very product centric and we will also be building our commercial team to get good commercial traction.”

For many companies in Oblivious’s space – a fast-growing tech startup with a significant fundraise under its belt – there is often a focus on how quickly their valuations could grow. However, Pisarczyk said this is not a concern for the firm.

“We’re not a company thinking about inflated valuations. We think funding rounds are great for getting partners who believe in our product. We want to be a leader in this technology, we think it will become a standard in this space.

“It could [eventually] lead to an IPO, but that would be something for helping the company grow. It would be a by-product after making sure that we have built a great product that people use.”

From his background in academia, Pisarczyk said building out a business has presented new challenges, but also given him a more immediate outlet for his work compared to research.

“If you’re just thinking about the principles, you could have no idea what would be important for people when they actually use it, so the product feedback is super interesting,” he said.

“Of course building out a company is more than just that. You’re working with clients and partners and you’re managing the team. When Jack and I started the company it was just us, and now we have a team which is building into that vision. So it’s not just mine and Jack’s idea, it’s a separate entity.

“All of these things make me excited – it doesn’t just stay at the level of research, it is being used by people and organisations. You’re potentially changing how data science is done, which is extremely satisfying.”