Aiisma, an innovative data ecosystem company, which rewards consumers for sharing data and enhances data privacy and control while giving enterprises access to filtered, structured and consensually-collected consumer data, has been launched in the UAE.
Combining proprietary software and hardware solutions, the company’s ecosystem serves as a data exchange platform, connecting consumers with businesses. This offers organisations an opportunity to request permissioned data in a transactional format, which creates value for the consumer by transforming their data into an asset.
Aiisma is poised to be a pioneer as a data marketplace, being transparent and beneficial to both the consumer as well as the business, a statement said, adding that the ecosystem, which is currently in beta, is positioned to launch in the UAE alongside the Indian sub-continent launch later this year.
Ankit Chaudhari, founder of Aiisma, along with his co-founder, Nicholas Böhnlein, established Aiisma in 2018 in Las Vegas, USA, followed by its APAC and Mena headquarters in Sharjah, UAE in 2019,with a vision of disrupting the traditional data collection industry or ’Data Colonisation’, as it is referred to by Aiisma.
Globally, data protection laws are considered by many to be too complex, creating challenges for businesses seeking to access consumer data or too lenient for consumers looking to protect their data against an invasion of privacy. Data protection laws also tend to allow for grey areas in which consumers run the risk of being exploited for their data.
The mission of the Aiisma founders is to return the ownership of data back to consumers, while giving businesses the opportunity to consensually and legally have access to consumer data at a fair price and under transparent conditions, the statement said.
Chaudhari said: “If you had an oil rig, you would not give your oil away for free. So why give your data away without charge when it can be just as valuable? This recognition was part of the motivation to create a transparent data transaction ecosystem between the consumer and the businesses, disrupting dated, traditional data gathering methods.”
Dubai-based Varun Sridharan has recently joined the team as an investor and co-founder. Headquartered in Las Vegas, with offices in India and most recently Sharjah, Aiisma has set its sights on creating a positive change around the world.
“#MyDataMyAsset is a campaign Aiisma wants to spread around the globe, and the UAE Government’s overwhelming support for start-ups and the country’s technologically-aware population makes the UAE a critical market for our launch,” Chaudhari added.
The Aiisma ecosystem will be launched in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2019 in the UAE and India. Interested consumers or businesses can get in touch with Aiisma to engage in beta testing, the statement said.