MUMBAI: New York-based research and intelligence firm CB Insights’ co-founder and CEO, Anand Sanwal in a chat with ET said that the company is scouting for potential acquisition opportunities in India.
Made popular through its business newsletter with punchy headlines and an informal tone, CB Insights completed the acquisition of Blockdata, a Netherlands-based software company tracking the global blockchain economy earlier this week.
This was its second acquisition. It acquired the data assets of VentureSource – a portfolio of information relating to venture capital markets – from News Corp.’s Dow Jones in July this year.
Sanwal said that company had looked into acquiring Indian startups in the past but could not agree on valuation numbers. The company continues to look for opportunities however, he said.
“Indian data companies are interesting…especially if they sell in the Indian market. We would want to take them global. It is a good market…,” he said.
The company has been adding to its database on emerging technology companies and private firms through its strategic acquisitions. Its popular business-to-business newsletter with annual subscriptions has also gradually grown from 50,000 subscribers in 2014 to over 640,000 currently.
Speaking on the Blockdata acquisition, Sanwal said that the heightened interest on blockchain and related technology across the world led to the idea of finding an early mover advantage through an acquisition.
“In the last 8 months, we have seen customer activity around the blockchain accelerate dramatically. It’s gone from something that was considered possible or probable to something that is now practical. As clients think about how to employ blockchain technology to drive growth or improve operations, we’re excited to equip them with the intelligence they need to make decisions more quickly and confidently,” he said.
The regulatory stances around blockchain technology have turned favourable in the last few years with governments opening up to the idea of employing the technology in public projects.
Sanwal said, “The tenor of central bank conversations has changed…we are betting on this interest translating into business,” he said.
No comments: