super{set} Celebrates First Exit: LiveRamp to Acquire Data Collaboration Software Startup Habu for $200M

Super{set} Celebrates First Exit: LiveRamp to Acquire Data Collaboration Software Startup Habu for $200M

super{set}-founded Habu, a leading data collaboration company, has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by LiveRamp (NYSE: RAMP) in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $200 million. Tom Chavez and Vivek Vaidya, Founding General Partners of super{set}, a startup studio that builds high-potential data+AI businesses from scratch, cofounded Habu alongside Matt Kilmartin and Mike Moreau.

Habu is a leader in the data collaboration category with innovative data clean room technology. Habu enables companies to share, make sense of, and act on insights on decentralized data without compromising privacy or data ownership – enabling companies to realize the full value of their data regardless of where it resides.

super{set} companies, like Habu, solve enterprise-scale business problems with transformational data+AI technology. Chavez and Vaidya are serial entrepreneurs who began the San Francisco-headquartered startup studio after selling Krux to Salesforce in 2016. They believe company building is a reproducible craft in which learnings from across companies produce stronger outcomes.

“Habu was founded in super{set}’s first wave of companies and evolved from insights Vivek, Matt, Mike, and I had from Krux. At the outset, I remember standing at the whiteboard with the team and sketching solutions to the many untackled problems facing brands in this new world of decentralized data. Through further conversations with prospective customers, we architected a solution – and Habu was born,” said Tom Chavez, Founding General Partner of super{set}.

“I’ve been lucky to know Matt Kilmartin and Mike Moreau for over a decade and watch them grow into cofounders and CEO/COO while leading Habu to where it is today,” continued Chavez. “The beauty of super{set} is that Vivek and I collaborated with Matt and Mike all along the way. In our model, we aim to show up when we are needed. Habu’s journey is the super{set} model at its best. I have a ton of respect for Scott Howe, LiveRamp’s CEO, and I’m so excited to see what the team can accomplish going forward within LiveRamp.”

“Habu would not be where it is today without Tom, Vivek and the super{set} team,” said Mike Moreau, co-founder of Habu. “They helped set up the sockets with early technical and design decisions, helped bring on our early customers, and were there throughout the entire journey helping Matt and I make the right bets.”

“When Habu started, data clean rooms weren’t on the radar of major brands, and the category was largely undefined. I’m incredibly proud of the spectacular work Matt Kilmartin and Mike Moreau have done to see the solution through, and I’m excited to see how Habu continues to evolve in its next phase as part of the LiveRamp universe,” said Vivek Vaidya, Founding General Partner of super{set}.

“super{set} was crucial in building Habu from the ground-up. We shared conviction with Tom and Vivek that there was immense value in building software for a world of decentralized data, which absolutely accelerated our value and growth. ” said Matt Kilmartin, co-founder of Habu.

“It was an early and encouraging sign for Habu to quickly build an enterprise-ready product and cement deals with major brands like Disney, L'Oreal, and PepsiCo,” said super{set} General Partner Jeremy Klein, “We look forward to collaborating with the next wave of aspiring founders and company builders to build more category-defining companies with super{set}.”

At the core of super{set}’s approach is a dynamic economy of learning – integrating successful strategies from one venture across the entire portfolio. Chavez, Vaidya, Klein and the super{set} team are excited to carry forward the lessons learned by building Habu as they continue to build more transformational data+AI companies alongside top talent and co-founders.

Contact: press@superset.com

• Read Tom Chavez on how effective collaboration led to a successful outcome at Habu
• Read Habu Chief Customer Officer Ted Flanagan's interview on super{set} Innovation Double-Click (and watch here)
• Read Habu CEO Matt Kilmartin on how Habu approached partnership strategy on Innovation Double-Click
• Listen to Habu CEO Matt Kilmartin on The {Closed} Session podcast

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