Hazy

Hazy operates as a synthetic data platform, offering artificially generated data to enterprises that need to analyze information without compromising user privacy. Founded in 2017 by Harry Keen, James Arthur, and Dr. Fintan Nagle, the company originated as a spinout from University College London (UCL). The founders identified the difficulty organizations faced in sharing and extracting value from data while adhering to privacy regulations, which led to the creation of Hazy.

The company's core business revolves around its generative AI platform that creates new, privacy-preserving synthetic data that mirrors the statistical properties and patterns of real-world datasets. This allows clients, primarily in highly regulated sectors like financial services, telecommunications, and government, to use the data for machine learning model development, software testing, and analytics without exposing sensitive or personal information. Hazy's software can be deployed on-premises or in the cloud and integrates with existing data stacks like AWS and Azure. Revenue is generated through a scalable pricing model based on usage, from single-table deployments to enterprise-wide implementations. In November 2024, the analytics company SAS acquired Hazy's core intellectual property and team to integrate into its own data analytics portfolio.

Hazy's journey includes significant milestones, such as winning the $1 million Microsoft Innovate AI prize in 2018. The company has secured a total of $11.3 million in funding over five rounds, including a $9 million Series A round in March 2023 with investors like M12 (Microsoft's venture fund), Wells Fargo, and Nationwide. This investment was aimed at strengthening its enterprise product capabilities and exploring new applications using large language models. Hazy has established a notable client base, working with companies such as Accenture, BMW, Vodafone, and Wells Fargo to help them unlock data for innovation.