Osano

Osano operates an all-in-one data privacy management platform intended to help organizations build, manage and scale privacy programs. The platform is organized around seven integrated modules: Cookie Consent, a Unified Consent & Preference Hub, Subject Rights Management (DSAR intake and automation of common request types such as data summaries and deletions), Data Mapping (discovery, classification, visualization and prioritization of personal data stores), Privacy Assessments (pre-built templates based on standards such as ISO and NIST, DPIAs and RoPAs, plus custom assessments), Vendor Privacy Risk Management, and Compliance Check for automated monitoring of website privacy compliance. Supporting features include a TrustHub for privacy documentation, legal templates (data processing addenda, privacy policies, California Do Not Sell/Share statements), a GDPR Representative service, in-app regulatory guidance, access to Osano's privacy team, and an AI assistant that returns cited answers to privacy questions.

The company states that the platform supports 95+ privacy laws across 50+ countries, with pre-built compliant banner templates, automatic localization and multi-language support, automatic tracker/cookie and script discovery, AI-powered cookie classification, blocking of unauthorized tags until consent is given, granular category-level consent, consent capture, archiving and detailed logs, CCPA/CPRA "Do Not Sell/Share" and US state-level opt-out handling, support for Global Privacy Control, Do Not Track, Google Consent Mode and IAB TCF/GPP strings, multi-site management, APIs and reporting dashboards. Deployment of the consent manager requires a single line of code. Osano markets a $500,000 "No Fines, No Penalties" guarantee, described as a contractual promise to cover regulatory fines.

Osano describes itself as the first data privacy platform to be a certified B Corporation and also operates as a Public Benefit Corporation. It is a fully remote company with a North America office address in Austin, Texas and a European address in Dublin, Ireland.

Founding story

Osano was founded in October 2018 by Arlo Gilbert and Scott Hertel. According to the company, the founders were prompted by watching U.S. Congress question technology leaders about online data privacy earlier that year and concluding that officials — and by extension businesses — lacked essential understanding of how data is stored and shared. They positioned Osano around the view that data privacy is a fundamental human right and that compliance is complicated by increasingly complex laws across jurisdictions and by limited internal resources.

Business model

Osano sells subscription software to organizations, offering both sales-led plans arranged through demos with its experts and self-service plans. Modules can be purchased and used together or separately, and the offering bundles software with human privacy expertise, including a team of attorneys providing regulatory guidance and a contractual $500,000 "No Fines, No Penalties" guarantee covering regulatory fines.

Recurring software subscriptions across seven platform modules, sold via demo-led enterprise plans and self-service plans.

Traction

The company reports more than 40,000 platform users, over 3 billion consents served per month (TechCrunch reported over 1 billion cookie consent banners per month in August 2023), and more than 11,000 vendors in its privacy database. At the time of the Series B, Osano reported triple-digit growth in its customer base and a 126% increase in platform utilization over the prior year. Review-site ratings cited on its site are 4.5/5 from 175+ reviews and 4.6/5 from 120+ reviews.

Latest developments

In August 2023 Osano announced a $25 million Series B led by Baird Capital, with proceeds directed to engineering, product development, sales, R&D and a channel program; Mark Donnelly of Baird Capital joined the board and Katharine Tomko of First Ascent Ventures joined as a board observer. Subsequent company announcements include new platform capabilities for risk mitigation, data mapping and assessments, the launch of 'The Privacy Insider Podcast,' and inclusion in the 2024 Fortune/Great Place To Work Best Workplaces in Texas. Current leadership listed by the company includes CEO Bobby Jaffari, co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer Arlo Gilbert, CFO Jessica Hamilton, Chief Customer Officer Skye McCullough, SVP of Engineering Joe Bulger, SVP of Product Management Amar Rama and SVP of Marketing Shane Coker; the platform now includes an AI-powered assistant and a Compliance Check module.