Gener8听has announced a 拢2.1m funding round not long after听founder听Sam Jones听appeared听on Dragons鈥� Den.听
The听free-to-use web browser lets people take back control and earn from their online data.听
A consortium听of investors participated in the round, including musician Tinie Tempah, football manager Harry Redknapp and Dragons鈥� Den star Tej听Lalvani.听听
Gener8 aims to create a movement and highlight the importance of protecting our online data听and the diverse nature of backers shows that this issue affects many from all walks of life.听
The latest investors听join Peter Jones and听Touker听Suleyman who won a hotly contested battle on Dragons鈥櫶鼶en to invest in the听startup听following Sam鈥檚 appearance on the show in April – that went viral for being 鈥渢he best pitch ever鈥�.听
The investment听further accelerates Gener8鈥檚 rapid growth, valuing it at more than 拢10m. This is 15x听more than the company鈥檚 valuation on Dragons鈥� Den.听
Gener8 has since听captured the imagination of the nation, with a new person downloading it every 10听seconds for the last four weeks. The video of Sam鈥檚 pitch has also been viewed more than 20,000,000 times online.听听
Sam听said: 鈥淭hings have really taken off since I was in the Den! We鈥檝e seen such听an incredible response, with over 1.5m听people visiting our website and hundreds of thousands downloading Gener8. It feels like a movement is starting.听
鈥淚t鈥檚 an issue听that resonates with many of us: our online data is being exploited, but what can we do about it? At Gener8, we鈥檙e passionate about helping people to either be rewarded for their data, or to keep it private altogether whilst they鈥檙e browsing online. It鈥檚 brilliant听to see so many people come together to join us on this journey.听
鈥淚鈥檓 so excited听to welcome the talent, passion and drive for change that Tinie, Harry and Tej will bring to the team. It鈥檚 just the beginning of something special.鈥�听
Gener8 lets听people choose to keep their data private or earn from it themselves whilst browsing online. By selecting 鈥楶rivacy Mode鈥� the user can stop companies from tracking them, or the 鈥楻ewards Mode鈥� means that a person can share their data with Gener8 to monetise it听for them.听听
Gener8 ads
When a person听chooses to earn from their data, they鈥檙e given their own profile where they select what they鈥檙e interested in. This information is used to tailor the adverts they see online, so that all ads are based on their interests.听
People then听receive points whenever they see an advert or any time their data is used.听
These points can be redeemed for products, vouchers or donations to charity in Gener8鈥檚 marketplace. The average person earns between 拢5 – 拢25 in rewards per month, with thousands of pounds being donated to charities which are changed听on a monthly basis.听
Tinie听Tempah said: 鈥淪am鈥檚听great;听as soon as I saw him pitch the听Dragons听I was trying听to figure out how I could get involved! It鈥檚 an issue that blows my mind – we accept these cookies tracking us online, and then everything that happens afterwards is invisible.听听
鈥淕ener8 is an incredible tool that will be the answer for many of us who don鈥檛 want听to just give our information away for free听anymore.鈥�听
Redknapp commented: 鈥淚n my line of work, it鈥檚 always been the lads with passion,听drive and a top听workrate听that鈥檝e gone on to perform at the highest level, and that鈥檚 what I see in Sam. His determination to make a real change is contagious and I look forward to seeing what we can achieve together.鈥�听
Lalvani听added: 鈥淲hen听Sam was in the Den, I knew I wanted to get behind the vision for Gener8 and give people the power to control their own data.听听听
鈥淚鈥檝e never done this before, but after the show I tracked Sam down to see if there was something that could be done – and now I鈥檓 delighted听to be a part of the exciting movement.听听
鈥淪am鈥檚 dedication and vision for the company inspires听real belief in me that he鈥檒l succeed in what Gener8 is setting out to do.鈥�听
Since the start听of the pandemic, Gener8 has supported the NHS by showing more than 15,000,000 Stay at Home and other informational ads to its users, free-of charge.听