Today import io, the cloud-based Big Data platform, is announcing it has raised POUND600,000 ($900,000) from Wellington Partners, Alta Vista founder Louis Monier, and long-time French technology investor Emmanuel Javal to help the award-winning start-up expand and develop its platform.

import io turns the web into a database, releasing the vast potential of the data trapped within the web. It lets companies, developers and coders extract, connect and fuse disparate sources of data from the web to let them build and create powerful new data sets and applications.

"We believe that the Web is full of useful data, but the reality stands: the Web was designed for documents, not data. At import io, we want to allow anyone to harness this trapped data. We democratize access to it by making it simple to turn Web sites into data sources, and to fuse them to create incredibly rich new data sets in a single real-time, virtual database that can be easily and consistently accessed," says David White, CEO of import io.

Eric Archambeau, General Partner at Wellington Partners says, "Big data is a powerful trend that if properly harnessed has the potential to create numerous useful applications for both businesses and consumers. We are pleased to have led the investment in import io. Given the founders' previous experience in implementing and growing a successful business intelligence data tool that continues to be used today in some of the largest financial institutions, we believe they are well-suited to execute their goal of providing a simple yet powerful way to tap the data needed to help businesses and developers create data-rich applications."

AltaVista founder and search technology expert Louis Monier says, "I am very excited to be associated with the team at import io. Their technology turns the common, unglamorous and time-consuming task of gathering data into a simple, almost fun, exercise. Anyone who can use a spreadsheet can now collect and combine data from multiple sources and have it available through an API. Their technology is set to revolutionize data collection for companies of all sizes."

French technology investor Emmanuel Javal says, "Not only am I impressed by the technology and the huge potential of the company, I am also amazed by the passion and the vision of its founders, David, Andrew and Matt. I am proud, alongside with other very talented people, to be part of this amazing adventure."

How import io works:
1) Extract data: Using a powerful yet easy-to-use point-and-click interface, people identify and extract the data they want from a site. They can extract the data in a matter of minutes without writing any code.
2) Connect data: Show the system how the data was obtained and import io will create a real-time connection to the data.
3) Fuse data: Fuse together hundreds of connections to create incredibly rich real-time data sets from the underlying sources.
4) Consume data: Access the data in real-time via a single API call, through the import io website or export the data into a spreadsheet, database, or search index.

Who's using import.io and what are they building?
import io is being used for everything from data journalism, retail trend analysis, through to commercial intelligence for due diligence and personalized events listing services. import io has helped everyone including teenage coders, professional developers and companies to quickly get the data they need.

These include:

Why Waste A Vote: 15 year-old coders pulled data about MPs and bills awaiting passage in Parliament to create a web app in one weekend that informs young voters about the parties they can vote for, their policies and how the British political system works. Why Waste a Vote won the category "Code A Better Country" at SAP Young Rewired State 2012.
PlanVine: Seedcamp start-up Planvine is an events data company that provides web sites with event data, and its own event recommendation site, which surfaces the best events in London to consumers.
Growth Intelligence: Growth Intelligence uses real-time signals and advanced machine-learning to give its clients up-to-the-minute intelligence on the sales and growth of millions of companies.

To see how import io works, watch our video: http://www.api90seconds.com

Import io is in developer preview: we love feedback. hello(at)import(dot)io

See http://import.io for more information.

About Wellington Partners
Wellington Partners is one of the most successful pan-European venture capital firms, with some €800 million under management and offices in London, Munich, Palo Alto and Zurich. The firm invests in companies throughout Europe that have the potential to become global leaders, in the areas of Digital Media, Resource Efficiency, Software and Life Sciences.

Since 1998, Wellington Partners has invested in more than 100 European companies, including now publicly traded Actelion and XING and privately held companies like Adconion, eBay-acquired Alando, Microsoft-acquired Ciao, Eye'em, Hailo, Sumall, YPlan, Qype and Spotify.

About import io
import io is an award-winning big data platform that aims to democratize data, making it available to everybody. import io allows you extract, connect, fuse and consume disparate sets of data on a web site to create data-rich applications and tools. Whether you're a programmer, analyst, or just want to be informed, we make it simple to get the data you need. import io won Best Startup at the O'Reilly big data conference Strata in 2013 and Best Data Newcomer at the 2012 Londata Awards. Founded in June 2012, import io's underlying technology is based on an existing enterprise forensic search business, Kusiri, which has sold into some of the largest banks, governments and professional service firms in the world, including KPMG, PwC and CitiGroup.