In-Q-Tel backs data unification software firm
By
Ross Wilkers
Intelligence community venture arm In-Q-Tel adds a new tech industry partner in Tamr, a provider of enterprise data unification software.
In-Q-Tel -- the intelligence community’s venture capital arm -- has invested in enterprise data unification software provider Tamr to evaluate potential uses of that technology by defense and intelligence agencies.
Terms of the investment were undisclosed, but IQT said in a release Wednesday it seeks to help further develop and deploy the Tamr Unify product.
Unifty was first conceived in early 2013 and the research was subsequently commercialized with backing by founding investors NEA and GV. Subsequent investments followed by Tamr customers such as General Electric, Thomson Reuters, MassMutual and Samsung.
“Tamr’s strategic partnership with IQT is an important milestone in our rapidly growing public sector business,” Tamr Chief Business Officer Toffer Winslow said in the release. “When it comes to accelerating digital transformation initiatives, the underlying data challenges faced by the U.S. government are similar to those we have been helping our private sector customers meet for several years.”
For In-Q-Tel, partnering with Tamr aims to help agencies overcome challenges in unifying data so they can address complex and challenging data environments but also improve collaboration across the national security community.
In-Q-Tel is one tool at the government’s disposal as part of its broader tech scouting function to build and cultivate a network of partners outside the market’s traditional ecosystem.
Systems integrators are increasingly embracing that approach as well through partnerships and dialogue with private investors, particularly those in the startup scene.