Taking control of data stored online
Creating game-changing technology, which will give consumers control over the personal data stored by online companies, is the goal of Waterford startup Sedicii.
The multi-award winning company is already trialling software which allows the identity of online shoppers to be authenticated without the need for a password to be exchanged and which thus reduces the amount of information being given away by consumers during a purchase.
The next step for Sedicii is the creation of a platform which will allow consumers to find out what pieces of their financial and personal information are being stored by online retailers.
“This will mean that users will be able to curate and manage information and ask to get it deleted or updated,” says Sedicii founder and managing director, Rob Leslie, who expects to start trialling this new technology in early 2016.
The development of this identity verification and management software has been prompted by EU plans to introduce new privacy laws next year which will give consumers the right to find out what data is being held and the right to have it deleted.
Given that the EU proposed to enforce the new laws by imposing fines of up to 5% of global annual turnover on companies which fail to comply, Sedicii foresees the opening up of a vast market.
Coming across the research being carried out in NUI Galway, Mr Leslie first secured commercialisation funding from Enterprise Ireland to test the software. Licencing the technology from the university, he set up Sedicii Innovations in 2013 at Arclabs in Waterford. Richard Coady, who has 20 years’ experience in technology sales, joined him as co-founder and commercial director.
In October 2013, Sedicii was selected for the Oxygen Accelerator programme in London and also at the START pitch competition at the Dublin Web Summit.
Employing a full-time staff of three and two contractors, Sedicii has since worked on refining and testing the technology. The authentication software solution based on Zero Knowledge Proof Protocol technology, was patented in 2013.
In 2014 Mr Leslie opted to validate the solution by entering innovation and technology competitions, winning a total of seven during the year including the BT Infinity Lab, the Irish Technology Leader Group/Irish Times Innovation award, and the Ernst & Young Start Up Challenge in the UK.
The company’s biggest success to date came earlier this month when Sedicii was selected as a Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum. It is one of just 49 companies chosen from across the globe in 2015 which have been identified as having “demonstrated the ability to harness creativity to design and create transformative solutions”. The resulting publicity and the recognition is now significantly helping Sedicii take its next step, which is to raise funding to go global.
Mr Leslie is now raising €5m from UK investors in order to develop the company over the next 18 months. Up until this point Sedicii was funded by Mr Leslie who secured two Innovation vouchers from Enterprise Ireland as well as €50,000 in H2020 funding from the European Commission.
The company expects to generate sales of €1m to €2m over the next year, increasing this to €50m in 2017 and €10 m in 2018.
Company: Sedicii Innovations
Location: Carriganore, Waterford
Set up: 2013
CEO: Rob Leslie
Staff: 3
Product: Internet security software
Website: sedicii.com
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