“We think this is an important initiative that has the potential to bring large benefits and a positive impact to consumers, businesses, as well as society as a whole,” said Freyr Ketilsson, Co-founder and CEO of Dattaca Labs.
Reykjavik, Iceland (PRWEB) June 07, 2017
Freyr Ketilsson and Bala Kamallakharan have announced the launch of Dattaca Labs, a new business and technology initiative in Iceland working in partnership with digi.me. Dattaca Labs is a living lab, which works with public institutions, local and multinational companies, and entrepreneurs to facilitate the development of innovative solutions across a wide range of sectors, including health, finance, retail, telecommunications, and IoT.
Dattaca Labs recently worked with Iceland’s Directorate of Health, digi.me, and local technology companies, TM Software and Reon, to facilitate the development of a new health API, which will provide the country’s citizens with easy access to their health data, including ambulatory and emergency treatments, and prescriptions. Iceland is the first government in the world to make individual health data available in digital form for its citizens.
This first living lab will be used to promote Iceland as an incubator for businesses looking to test new digital products and services in the local market before scaling them globally. Iceland was selected as an ideal location for the living lab because it is an exceptionally privacy-aware, tech-savvy, socially-connected, and forward-looking nation.
Dattaca Labs’ mission is to help businesses and government institutions rethink the value exchange between individuals and digital value providers, the ‘personal data economy.’ When individuals can hold their data and give informed, permissioned access to receive the personalized offerings they desire, this exchange enables entities to provide valuable services, while encouraging innovation generally.
Digi.me is a UK technology company founded by entrepreneur, Julian Ranger, who recently spoke at the annual Startup Iceland conference in Reykjavik. Digi.me, which completed a Series A raise last year, including investments from Swiss Re and eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, has developed a unique technology that brings personal data together, delivering it to individuals’ devices without ever seeing, holding, or touching the data.
“We think this is an important initiative that has the potential to bring large benefits and a positive impact to consumers, businesses, as well as society as a whole,” said Freyr Ketilsson, Co-founder and CEO of Dattaca Labs. “When people can share accurate, complete, rich data on their terms, it opens up a world of possibilities for innovative new products, services, and experiences. We are glad that Iceland can help lead this initiative.”
“Iceland is the perfect environment in which to demonstrate the benefit of the new personal data ecosystem that arises when individuals own and control their own data,” said Julian Ranger, founder of digi.me. “With a history of personal empowerment, first-class health, telecommunications, banking, and other industries, and a track record of innovation, we are confident that Iceland will be a beacon of change that will inspire others to adopt this personal data revolution.”
Rising awareness of data privacy and security by consumers, as well as stricter regulations, including the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which goes into effect in May 2018, are pushing companies to review their data collection practices. The environment gives businesses opportunities to remove the lack of trust that can affect people’s engagement through innovative uses of personal data, while giving individuals clear, effective information about what their data is being used for.
For more information regarding the Dattaca Labs Iceland initiative, visit DattacaLabs.com.
ABOUT DATTACA LABS
Dattaca Labs is a living lab that is leading the personal data economy in Iceland. The professional services business works with public institutions, local and multinational companies, and entrepreneurs to develop innovative solutions and services across a wide range of sectors, including health tech, fin tech, telecommunications, and IoT. Its mission is to help businesses and institutions improve the value exchange between end users and digital value providers, with an emphasis on empowering the individual.
ABOUT DIGI.ME
Digi.me is a personal data exchange platform that allows consumers to gather together information currently scattered around the web and share it on their terms under the company’s bespoke Consent Access process. Digi.me is working with world-leading businesses in the health, finance, FMCG and telco sectors on projects unlocking the benefits of targeted and consented data sharing for both consumers and organisations. To date, digi.me has raised more than $10m in investor funding and has teams in the UK, Europe and North America.
