dataminr Acquires Watchkeeper - Real-Time Event Detection

Dataminr Acquires WatchKeeper to Enhance Event Intelligence Visualization

Few organizations rival Dataminr in its capacity to identify unfolding events globally. Established in 2009, the company has secured over $1 billion in funding over the last twelve years – including $475 million at a $4.1 billion valuation this past March – to develop a platform capable of converting raw data streams into practical, event-based intelligence.

Serving Diverse Customer Needs

This intelligence is disseminated to a wide range of users, including security professionals, supply chain analysts, and journalists, to support their respective work. According to CEO and co-founder Ted Bailey, event detection represents the company’s primary expertise. He stated that the focus has consistently been on “the detection of events.”

Bailey further explained that Dataminr historically lacked an advanced geospatial platform within its corporate product offering. This would have enabled users to visualize potential risks, rather than simply receiving alerts via push notification or email.

The Acquisition of WatchKeeper

This is set to change with the announcement of Dataminr’s first-ever acquisition: UK-based WatchKeeper. WatchKeeper’s platform is specifically designed to assist corporate security leaders in visualizing the potential impact of events on company assets.

For example, a banking institution with multiple branches in Florida requires a clear understanding of the potential consequences should a hurricane approach the state. The financial terms of the acquisition have not been publicly revealed, but Bailey confirmed that it was not simply a talent acquisition ("acquihire").

WatchKeeper's Background and Growth

Founded in 2018, WatchKeeper had previously secured £1 million in funding from venture capital firms, as reported by Crunchbase. Bailey emphasized the varying needs of organizations and the differing impacts events can have, based on their geographical and logistical footprints.

Dataminr had been closely monitoring WatchKeeper’s progress even before the company’s founding. Hugh Farquhar, WatchKeeper’s founder and CEO, previously developed a platform at Citibank for contextualizing Dataminr alerts for the bank’s leadership team.

From Partnership to Acquisition

Following his departure from Citibank, Farquhar resolved to create a similar platform accessible to all businesses. As awareness of WatchKeeper’s product grew, Bailey identified an opportunity for closer collaboration.

“We were actively exploring a partnership with them for the last 6-12 months, evaluating the potential of working together,” Bailey said. “We had already identified them as the leading innovator in data visualization, particularly attuned to corporate requirements.” This ultimately led to discussions about a full acquisition.

Integration and Future Expansion

The entire WatchKeeper team will be integrated into Dataminr and will continue to operate from the U.K. Dataminr established its European headquarters in the U.K. several years ago and intends to invest significantly from its recent funding round in international expansion across Europe and the APAC region.

WatchKeeper’s technology will be integrated into Dataminr Pulse later this year, the company’s product tailored for business risk clients. From a data perspective, Bailey noted that this acquisition represents a new direction for Dataminr.

“We have not previously utilized public data beyond event detection,” he explained. “We are exploring ways to move beyond simply detecting events early,” to provide “real-time contextual data.” Furthermore, WatchKeeper’s ability to integrate internal corporate data is a new capability for Dataminr.

Strategic Outlook

This marks Dataminr’s first merger and acquisition. While future acquisitions are possible, the company currently does not have a specific strategy focused on achieving growth targets through acquisitions. Dataminr remains on a path toward a planned initial public offering (IPO), having designated its March funding round as a “pre-IPO round.”