Collibra

TLDR

Collibra is a Brussels-founded data intelligence and governance platform valued at $5.25B, serving large enterprises that need to manage, catalog, and govern their data assets at scale.

Overview

Founded in 2008 by Felix Van De Maele and Pieter De Leenheer, Collibra emerged from research at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and grew into one of Belgium's most prominent technology success stories. The company moved its headquarters to New York as it scaled internationally, while retaining a significant engineering presence in Brussels.

Collibra's platform covers data cataloging, data lineage, policy management, and data governance workflows. It is used by financial institutions, healthcare organizations, and large enterprises managing complex regulatory and compliance requirements around data.

With a valuation of $5.25B, Collibra sits firmly in Unicorn territory and has raised over $1B in venture and growth funding from investors including ICONIQ Growth, Softbank, and Index Ventures.

Funding milestones include a $112.5M Series F in April 2020 (valuation $2.3B), and a $250M Series G in November 2021 led by Sequoia and Sofina (valuation $5.25B). The company went through two rounds of layoffs in October 2022 and November 2023, each reducing headcount by approximately 10%, as it adjusted to a slower enterprise spending environment after the 2021 peak.

Key People

• Felix Van De Maele - Co-founder and CEO
• Pieter De Leenheer - Co-founder

Funding History

• Collibra Series F 2020 - $112.5M Series F (Apr 2020), $2.3B valuation
• Collibra Series G 2021 - $250M Series G led by Sequoia and Sofina (Nov 2021), $5.25B valuation

Connections

One of Belgium's flagship enterprise software exports. A reference case for any conversation about Belgian tech going global.