Looking ‘on the bright side of internet data’ – an interview with Or Lenchner, CEO at Bright Data

Or Lenchner, CEO, Bright Data

Describe to us the Bright Data elevator pitch…

We’re a web data platform that makes public web data accessible to all. It’s as simple as that. We began activity in 2014, and we work with over 15,000 customers, ranging from Fortune 500 players to large enterprises, SMEs, strategic start-ups as well as major academic institutions, non-profits and public sector bodies. We hire some of the best data talents out there and have over 350 employees across offices in New York City and San Francisco. And that’s not all – we recently surpassed the 100 million USD mark in revenues and have acquired three new companies.

Tell us, where did the idea for web data collection come from?

The internet is the largest database of public information in the world today. However, it’s lacking in a few areas. For one, it’s not the most transparent source of information. For competition-driven reasons, many companies block their own websites from being accessible to their competitors even though the information displayed is public and visible to us as consumers. For this reason and more, reaching the real public raw data is not easy. As you know, web data is used for many purposes. Whether for AI systems, market research and analysis, or operational needs and more, organisations clearly need web data to remain competitive and to stay ahead of the market’s rapid pace of constant innovation. This is where the idea for Bright Data was born – a public web data collection platform that allows all types of businesses and organisations to access the data they require for multiple reasons, including critical decision-making. Just imagine what the results would be if that data could not be accessed: Innovation would move much slower, addressing real public needs would be a challenge, prices would not be as competitive (e.g., we as consumers would pay more), and even the invention of the Covid vaccine would not have been as effective as it was. In short, public web data is the eyes and ears every organisation, no matter the industry or field needs.

So, is your mission to make data accessible to all?

In a nutshell, yes. But beyond that, we’re committed to providing reliable and quality data, and that means adhering to the highest standards of innovation, compliance and ethics. Our compliance department has grown significantly over the years, and we recently hired a new Compliance and Ethics Vice President who formerly worked for KPMG, a firm known for its high ethical standards. We are extremely proud of our industry-leading practices, which ensure that we supply our clients with high-quality, reliable data. To trust the data you receive, you first have to trust your data partner. We make sure our customers and partners can always trust us.

Does this apply to all the sectors you serve? Which ones are these?

We cater to organisations from almost every sector, from finance and e-commerce to security, travel and beyond. Our top aim is to collect and provide data in the most effective way possible, using a product suite that appeals to non-programmers that do not have any coding experience and developers or data/tech experts who know it all. Future data cycles will likely focus on addressing the entire data cycle and a whole range of additional data requirements. For example, we recently released three new automated services and solutions that drastically cut the time it takes to collect online data to just a few minutes.

What’s this we hear about The Bright Initiative?

Just over a year ago, we established a pro-bono organisation, The Bright Initiative, to encourage positive change in the world through the use of public web data. The Initiative has over 400 partner organisations that either use Bright Data’s products and services pro bono, participate in the Initiative’s multiple expert-led sessions and workshops, or receive support and advice based on the company’s extensive expertise. The Initiative’s partners are made up of over 160 leading universities and multiple non-profits and NGOs that are advancing valuable environmental and social causes as well as web transparency causes. The Initiative also supports the UK’s National Data Strategy (NDS) and is an active member of the NDS Forum. We’re proud of what we’ve achieved so far, and we look forward to continuing our pro-bono efforts to help countless other people and companies.

I guess we’ve covered everything… the only question to ask is, what does the future hold?

That’s the bigger question here, and the answer is only upwards advancement. The data domain is showing no signs of slowing down. Many industries see data as an indispensable tool for their ongoing operational, development and business needs as well as decision-making. It’s at the core of so many strategies and day-to-day decisions, and it’s needed now. Yesterday’s data is old; today’s data is where the focus is and will continue to be. As such, we’ll continue to lead the market with speed, flexibility and efficiency to address the industry’s data needs. We’ll also continue to provide a full suite of data products and solutions that meet the full data cycle requirements. We’re prepared for what’s to come, and we look forward to a bright future in data.

For more information about Bright Data, visit: https://brightdata.com/

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