Mar 7, 2018 - Technology
Wall Street-focused AI startup acquired for $550 million
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S&P Global has agreed to acquire Kensho, a Cambridge, Mass.-based provider of AI-powered analytics for traders, for around $550 million in cash and stock.
Why it matters: This appears to be the largest-ever purchase of an AI startup, topping Google's 2014 deal for DeepMind.
Caveat: It's effectively a flat price from where Kensho raised its last round of funding one year ago (a round that S&P Global led).
- Per an S&P spokesman: "On a fully diluted basis, including the cash acquired, it was a modest premium to the last round of funding."
- Earlier backers included Breyer Capital, Xfund, General Catalyst and Goldman Sachs.
Bottom line, per Forbes: Kensho's goal is to "use machine learning to make complex financial analysis as easy as a search on Google."
