PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 12, 2019 – Following its recent nomination to Microsoft’s coveted Co-Sell program (NASDAQ:MSFT), Microshare Inc. announced the closing of $5 million in investments, with the largest share by the global investment advisor Motley Fool.

Philadelphia-based Microshare, whose unique data management and sharing software enables secure revenue and efficiency models in facilities management, logistics and other sectors, says the new funding will be devoted to scaling successful pilots in Europe and North America, expansion to other global markets, and for platform and product development.

“Data is money, and if something is worth money, the first question is ‘who owns it,’ and the second is ‘can I share it for value?’” said Ron Rock, CEO of Microshare. “We started Microshare to leverage our decades of experience in data, so we could help companies begin to manage and monetize it from both their traditional operations and the new explosion of IoT data. We view both the Motley Fool investment and Microsoft’s engagement with us as key votes of confidence in our scalable approach.”

Motley Fool’s investment represents the data firm’s first foray into institutional investment, a sign of the upward trajectory anticipated for Microshare’s revenue and valuation in the current climate. Industry analysts note that data management firm valuations have jumped of late. Cloud security specialist Rubrik raised $261 million at a $3.3 billion valuation in January, a step-up of well over 2x since 2017. Late last year, Veeam, a Swiss data management firm, hauled in $500 million from Insight Venture Partners and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. Microshare has raised $5 million over the past two years from strategic partners in the US and Europe, including Kerlink (EPA:ALKLK), the leading manufacturer of LoRaWAN™ IoT connectivity.

“The growth rate of IoT networks and devices is staggering. We believe Microshare is in a leadership position to create solutions and standards that enable data governance, permissioning, and protection on a real-time basis across different IoT products and platforms,” shared John Keeling, Venture Partner at Motley Fool Ventures.

In September 2018, software giant Microsoft embraced the Microshare approach by welcoming the company into its ScaleUp program, which extends marketing and development support to Microshare. As a result of the ScaleUp graduation events in early February 2019, Microshare is currently pursuing multiple sales and partner opportunities introduced by Microsoft.

“We were impressed with the Microshare proposition and its immediate relevance to the growing IoT data sharing ecosystem,” said Warwick Hill, Snr MD of Microsoft for Startups, Europe and Middle East. “We are aligned in our focal point of democratizing AI, data privacy and IoT, and look forward to working together.”

This latest milestone for the innovative firm comes as its core concept ­has gained widespread acceptance in the corporate sector and among major technology firms. Microshare for years has made the case for data as a valuable asset that is almost always owned by multiple parties, and that unlocking its tremendous value requires that the data can be shared in a controlled and complaint way. ­Accelerated by Facebook’s troubles and by the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union, more and more companies are seeking granular control and audit capabilities for data in their networks both to manage risk and to enable lucrative new revenue models.

About Microshare, Inc.

Microshare™ enables data owners to extract amplified value from digital assets by empowering them to combine data stores for actionable insight, establish and enforce sharing rights to distribute information, and monetize data for new revenue streams and business models — all with complete audit, compliance and control.  Microshare is part of the LoRa Alliance™, promoting the LoRaWAN™ protocol as the leading open global standard for secure, carrier-grade IoT Low-Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) connectivity. Microshare has offices in Philadelphia, PA, USA, and in the United Kingdom. More information at https://www.microshare.io.

About Motley Fool

Based in Alexandria, Va., Motley Fool Ventures brings The Motley Fool’s investing principles and member community to venture capital.  Launched in 2018, Motley Fool Ventures invests in early-stage companies that leverage technology to create a clear competitive advantage in their industry. Its dedicated team, investor community, and robust network aim to provide value to entrepreneurs beyond just capital.  To learn more about Motley Fool Ventures, please visit: http://foolventures.com.