Caden is reinventing personal data gathering, measurement, and addressability via an ethically built platform that puts consumers first by compensating them for their data and empowering them to control it

Next-generation personal data company Caden has raised an oversubscribed $6 million seed round led by Streamlined Ventures bringing total funds raised to $9.4 million. Existing investors, including Yahoo! co-founder Jerry Yang’s AME Cloud Ventures and 1707 Capital, were joined by new investors Industry Ventures, Montage Ventures, Akuna Capital, and Lightning Capital, among others.

Caden is the latest venture of successful entrepreneur John Roa, who sold his previous startup to Salesforce Inc. in 2015. The proceeds of this round will be used to launch the Caden platform and further build out the team in New York City.

For consumers, Caden empowers everyone to finally take control of their personal data and make money from it. The Caden mobile app allows users to pull in data on what movies they watch, where they travel, what they buy, etc., and see fun and insightful analytics on their consumer profiles. They can then opt-in to monetizing their data in a variety of ways, creating a passive income stream that never treads on their privacy.

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For businesses, Caden is an “ethically-sourced” first-party data provider, bringing the most accurate, robust, and actionable data streams to the open market via Caden’s proprietary Knowledge Graph platform. Data can be consumed in anonymized/aggregated ways for alternative data buyers, organized by various Unique IDs for advertising tech, or made available on an identifiable basis for specific use cases. All of the above requires explicit opt-in consent from the user.

“Caden is the first data company built on the core tenants of user consent and control,” Roa said. “We have a rare opportunity to create a tech company that can fundamentally change the internet for the better while creating unprecedented value for stakeholders on all sides.”

“The new era of privacy, driven by heightened consumer awareness and inconsistent regulation, is challenging the future of companies whose business models rely on personal data for survival,” said Ullas Naik, General Partner at Streamlined Ventures. “Caden is the first to address this fundamental shift in how brands collect and utilize consumer data with a platform that puts consumers first and will deliver a higher quality of consent-driven data for brands.”

Yahoo! co-founder and Caden investor Jerry Yang said, “Caden is a game changer. Consumers are now empowered to have control of their valuable data and finally make money from it. Brands have an ethical way to serve their customers better. It’s why I’m personally invested in Caden and the future data economy.”

Caden’s flagship mobile product is currently in closed beta and will be released to the public in the first quarter of 2023.

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