- Gradient Ventures, a Google AI venture firm, invests $9.5M in Mine
- Mine makes data controls under the ‘Right-To-Be-Forgotten’ simpler
- It scans users’ inbox and automatically sends deletion requests to companies
The Israeli privacy startup, Mine, received a major boost by Series A funding. Mine is a platform developed to help individuals discover and manage personal data on the web. It raised $9.5 million as funding from Gradient Ventures, Google’s AI-focused venture firm. Internet users have the right to request companies to delete their personal data. But regulations like CCPA and GDPR are not exercised by many. Mine aims to simplify that process and help users fetch their data and request its removal.
Origin of Mine
‘Mine’ was founded by Gal Ringel (CEO), Gal Golan (CTO), and Kobi Nissan (CPO) in 2018. Ringel and Golan had been key members of the Israeli Defence Forces’ cybersecurity wing, Unit 8200. Nissan, on the other hand, has been a part of the consumer gaming industry. They have worked in companies like Accenture, Microsoft, Verizon, Nielsen, etc. Their startup, ‘Mine’ was brought to the fore in January this year with a $3 million seed round. The funding was offered by Battery Ventures, a global investment firm, and Saban Ventures, an Israeli VC firm.
How does Mine work?
Mine scans users’ inboxes and helps them understand which company has access to their personal data. Its AI-based platform provides consumers the option of submitting a deletion request. For ‘Right-To-Be-Forgotten’ of unused services, deletion requests can be filed. And this funding will help Mine build new products for both consumers and businesses for the automatic filing of requests. The startup is also preparing to launch in the U.S. after a successful expansion in Europe and Israel. Around 100,000 people use Mine. Also, Mine facilitated over 1.3 million data-reclaim requests.
Whenever you subscribe or interact online, like signing up, these companies leave a trace in your inbox, according to Ringel. Mine uses this trace to cross-reference the information with the data collection and privacy policies of the respective companies. It determines what data they possess and provides a risk score for each company. If the user wants to delete their data, Mine sends an automated request email from the user’s account.
This allows users to be more flexible with their data. Despite blocking access to their data, users can now comfortably share it. This is due to the assurance that it will be under their control at all times. The startup is providing this service free of cost to its users. There will be pricing options for premium options like deleting the entire conversation with a company. It will be working alongside with other businesses to create a standard interface regarding privacy and data collection.
