Recently, S&P Global acquired Kensho, an AI startup, for $500 million, making it the biggest AI acquisition deal in history. Regardless of the sale, Kensho will remain an independent brand, still under the leadership of Nadler.
Daniel Nadler is the man acknowledged for the inception of Kensho. He created the startup five years ago out of General Catalyst’s kitchenette in Cambridge. At the same time, he culminated his mathematics Ph.D. at one of the most prestigious universities, Harvard.
Before its acquisition by S&P Global, Kensho had raised $67.5 million. What’s more, numerous investors such as Goldman Sachs, Google Ventures and In-Q-Tel, the venture capital branch of the Central Intelligence Agency, backed the startup.
Kensho draws its team members from some of the leading companies in the world such as Facebook, Apple, and Google. Even so, they are a spirited and diverse group of scientists and engineers who are enthusiastic problem solvers and successful analytical thinkers.
The multi-talented team comprises of quantum computing PhDs, PhD physicists, one of the youngest entrants to Harvard College and the co-founder of Nowcasting at Google.
Kensho Technologies Inc. is at the forefront in providing data visualization systems, machine learning, artificial intelligence and next-generation analytics to Wall Street’s leading investment institutions and the National Security community and global banks.
The purchase of Kensho will reinforce S&P Global’s emerging technology abilities as well as boost its ability to provide essential, actionable insights that are capable of transforming clients’ user experience.
Kensho has also scooped many accolades since inception. In fact, the World Economic Forum recognizes the company as a technology pioneer.
Douglas Peterson, S&P Global’s CEO and president, expressed the company’s excitement since Kensho’s new group of analytical tools will enable it to expedite change across the company.
He added that Kensho’s complex algorithms, intuitive platforms, and machine learning capabilities had created a widespread following across the technology space and Wall Street in just a short time.
S&P Global’s extra resources will accelerate Kensho’s R&D of sophisticated artificial intelligence technologies for both the National Security and Wall Street.
According to Daniel Nadler, Kensho boasts one of the leading elite artificial intelligence teams globally, which draws the scientific community’s foremost global research universities.
Ewout Steenbergen, S&P Global’s CFO, said the announcement of the acquisition marks a vital step for S&P Global, as it firmly believes that new technologies such as natural language processing and artificial intelligence will change the industry in future.
In addition, he acknowledged that Kensho’s capabilities are essential for propelling S&P Global’s mission to be at the front line of the technology changes that are currently taking place in the financial markets.
S&P Global created a Fintech Venture Investment program in 2017 and invested successfully in several fintech companies like Ursa Space Systems, Algomi, and Kensho.
Early in February this year, the company announced its intentions to buy Panjiva, a renowned fintech company that uses unique technology capabilities to spearhead insight from a vast unstructured dataset that covers the international supply chain.
Source Techstartup
