QoreNext, a Singapore- and Seattle-based Data-as-a-Service (DaaS) provider for the enterprise business to business (B2B) market, announced Tuesday it has raised $1.5 million in seed funding from Southeast Asia venture capital firm Wavemaker Partners.

The seed round will help the QoreNext platform to advance the production of its main modules and to bring its first set of data products to the market, the company said in a statement.

Previously, the startup closed an angel investment round from leaders in the insights, payments, and data spaces.

QoreNext is a tech startup that is re-inventing the future of data creation for the enterprise B2B market. It consists of a platform for enterprise data content, powered by machine learning and robotic process automation. QoreNext is created to be a virtual data factory, where customers can leverage its interconnected data products with seamless integration—always updated and current. QoreNext provides its clients with reliable high-quality data, with a flexible DaaS pricing model. This results in business-ready data that allows major time and cost savings. With a remote-first, office-agnostic approach, the QoreNext team is distributed across North America, Asia Pacific, and India.

Founded by data scientist and entrepreneur Rahul Sahgal, QoreNext has applied machine learning to robotic process automation via its collaborative platform. The business idea was based on IP specifically carved out of Annik, the data and analytics company Sahgal founded and sold to French IT services giant CapGemini. Annik was part of a private equity-driven roll-up under digital customer engagement firm LiquidHub, which was acquired for $500 million in 2018.

Rahul realized that corporations expend a great deal of time and resources in acquiring data from various common public sources and then maintaining this data to their high standards. He recognized that there were better ways to resolve this pervasive issue. The Qore platform changes the way foundational data is produced and consumed, while the virtual collaborative aspect brings the gig-economy model into the corporate data management world. This precludes the need for armies of data stewards or editors.

“We have already had many constructive discussions with corporates that show a genuine interest in our data offerings”, said Rahul Sahgal, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of QoreNext.

“With over a decade of industry experience and a successful exit under his belt, Rahul deeply understands the problems faced by enterprises when it comes to data. QoreNext’s ML-RPA-driven approach not only allows for various cost-efficient optimizations and automations within data science teams but also gives companies access to foundational data that are vital for decision-making. We are confident that with the team’s extensive network and experience, they are best-placed to scale their solution globally across verticals, starting from the US,” said Wavemaker Partners Managing Partner Paul Santos.

Headquartered in Singapore, WaveMaker is Southeast Asia’s go-to VC firm investing in B2B and deep tech. Since 2012, it has backed at least 140 companies, of which 85 percent are in enterprise and deep tech. The firm has $180 million in assets under management (AUM) across three funds and has seen 10 exits valued at close to $700 million.

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