Syntho
Enabling data innovation through synthetic data
Getting started
Syntho was founded by three friends from different study backgrounds who met at the University of Groningen. They eventually moved to Amsterdam, even living in the same building, which made for good, natural collaboration. They formally established the company in January 2020, sharing their professional experience in data-driven innovation to combat problems in accessing and using real-world data due to privacy concerns, high costs and administrative hurdles. This became the foundation for creating Syntho, Wim Kees Janssen (CEO) explains. “We focused on building smart solutions to make data more accessible for innovation, while preserving privacy.”
Initial vision and strategic shift
Syntho began by developing AI-generated synthetic data. This technology learns the statistical properties of real datasets and creates artificial ones that closely mimic the original, allowing organisations to prototype, test and analyse without risking sensitive data exposure. However, the team soon realised that synthetic data alone is a feature, not a full solution. As a result, Syntho evolved to develop a platform, offering a broader set of tools for data privacy and generation, including:
- AI-based synthetic data
- Rule-based synthetic data
- Data de-identification tools
This platform allows organisations to choose the most suitable method based on their use case. “This all-in-one approach became Syntho’s unique selling point,” says Wim Kees, “offering not just one way to work with data safely, but several fully integrated options within a user-friendly environment.”
Target market and global reach
Syntho’s solution appeals to organisations that handle privacy-sensitive data, have strong innovation mandates, and rely heavily on data for delivering value. This includes the healthcare, finance and tech sectors where secure access to realistic data is crucial. Although Syntho is a Dutch company, its clients can be found in Europe, the United States and Japan. The universality of the data privacy challenge makes the company’s platform globally relevant.
Syntho’s synthetic data platform has found strong adoption among software companies that often need test data to build and develop systems along with demo data to showcase software without exposing customer data. Synthetic data provides a safe, realistic alternative that supports both development and sales processes, reducing compliance risks while speeding up innovation.
Involvement in ITEA and R&D growth
With synthetic data increasingly important to healthcare because of both its ease of access and its avoidance of patient privacy infringement, Syntho was invited by one of its partners to join its first ITEA project (IWISH). Using the Syntho Engine, the time taken to access data for AI or analytics has fallen from between weeks and months to almost immediate. Additionally, the project validated this synthetic data versus real-world data and achieved a negligible performance drop of just 0.6%. Syntho has therefore been able to release the engine as a licence-based product and is working to expand it to other industries such as finance and governance. In the process, the company’s involvement in IWISH has helped it to grow from three to 15 employees.
Wim Kees: “We were in an early R&D phase at the time, which made the project a perfect fit. Participating had a transformational impact that allowed us to significantly enhance our platform capabilities and accelerate development. Admittedly, the administrative aspects were challenging, especially for a small startup, but the benefits far outweighed the investment. Collaboration with international partners also provided valuable diversity of thought, technical insight and networking opportunities.”
The company’s involvement in IWISH has helped it to grow from three to 15 employees
Market outlook and future vision
Looking ahead, Syntho sees enormous opportunities in data privacy and synthetic data. Increasing regulatory pressures (such as AI and data protection laws), increased public concern over data usage and the need for ethical AI are all trends driving demand. Syntho positions itself as a foundational layer, empowering other innovations (like AI, machine learning, blockchain and software development) by making safe, usable data readily available. Wim Kees: “We believe synthetic data is still in its early days and expect strong market growth in the coming years.”
Advice for Startups
To other startups considering R&D consortiums, Wim Kees advises them to understand the value proposition – what do you aim to gain – and to treat participation as a strategic investment. Despite the time and effort involved, such projects can offer immense R&D acceleration and market readiness. Syntho certainly hopes to join more projects in the future and continue contributing to the international innovation ecosystem, now backed with experience and a proven platform.
More information:
https://www.syntho.ai/