Breaking Barriers helps the team continue targeted development and scale up
There are huge opportunities in collaborative data analysis, but how do you do it securely? This was the starting point for Martine van de Gaar and Maarten Everts to develop applications of encryption technology at TNO. This gave rise to their start-up Linksight in 2021: software that allows organizations to collaborate on data, without having to share that data.
Linksight is already being used by hospitals, primary care centers, health insurance companies and municipalities. Now Linksight is working on new functionality and further scaling up. That's why the team is joining Breaking Barriers. In this interview, Martine talks about the organization, its ambitions and how Breaking Barriers contributes to that.
Highway for AI models
"To many people, encryption technology sounds like magic," Martine explains. "But with our software, you don't have to be a magician or a techie to work securely with data. The data stays from and with you, and you set the terms. For example, which data an AI model may use, for what period of time or for what purpose. This is how organizations gain important insights while maintaining their data sovereignty."
On birthdays, she likes to use a metaphor: "Suppose every car brand had to build its own road network for testing. Then there would be a maze of separate roads, with no standardization and no safety. This is also how it works for AI developers. We build the road network: the highways, road signs and rules. AI developers can then safely drive on those."
Practical examples abound: "Take waiting lists in healthcare: hospitals, general practitioners and home care organizations want to know how many unique patients in a region are waiting for treatment. You can't just share that data with each other. Thanks to Linksight, you can see the number of unique people waiting, without revealing the data between them."
Scaling up and certification
Linksight starts with two clear goals within Breaking Barriers. The first goal is a new functionality: to let AI models work with horizontally and vertically partitioned data, so that patterns become visible between regions as well as within one organization or chain. "We want to have that functionality fully ready by the end of the project," Martine says.
Linksight also works on the commercial side of the business. "We are investigating which segments are most promising and how best to reach them," she explains. "That should provide a structural go-to-market that will allow us to scale up faster and smarter, for example through a partner network."
Important role in the AI ecosystem
In Breaking Barriers, Martine found a like-minded partner. "There is a lot of focus on grants and single AI projects, but much less on the ecosystem needed for AI to really succeed," she notes. " Although we also deploy AI ourselves, our software is mostly peripheral to responsible AI applications. It's nice that Breaking Barriers understands that and is helping us grow within that ecosystem."
All data at the source
Martine has a clear vision of the future. "Everyone's data stays at the source. Not only in the Netherlands, but also in Europe and far beyond. Some parties have so much power now, simply because they own so much data. That is irresponsible. Organizations and individuals must become data sovereign again: that is what we stand for and what we are going for. Breaking Barriers brings us another step closer."
