Rare-earth doped inorganic phosphors play a crucial role in solid-state lighting and modern display technologies. Finding new phosphors usually involves trial-and-error synthesis or making a chemical substitution. Traditionally, this has demanded considerable experimental effort. In recent years, a new approach has emerged to support the discovery and development of luminescent materials-using data-driven methods within the field of materials science. Data driven platform can now provide identification of phosphors that could have slipped past undetected in the past. Recent developments in the use of data-driven techniques in this context are described, including synthetic optimization, predictive techniques, and new materials discovery.