ServiceNow Acquires Data.world Following Moveworks Purchase

ServiceNow Expands AI Capabilities with Data.World Acquisition

ServiceNow, a leading enterprise workflow management platform, revealed its second acquisition focused on artificial intelligence this year on Wednesday.

Data.World to Enhance Data Governance

The company announced a definitive agreement to acquire Data.World, a cloud-native platform specializing in data cataloging and data governance. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, Data.World has secured over $130 million in venture funding from investors including Alumni Ventures, Prologis Ventures, and Shasta Ventures, as reported by Crunchbase.

Financial details of the acquisition remain undisclosed. PitchBook data indicates Data.World’s most recent valuation reached $350 million following a $50 million Series C funding round in 2022.

Strategic Move for Scalable AI Deployment

Gaurav Rewari, Senior Vice President and General Manager of data analytics at ServiceNow, explained to TechCrunch that the company sought partners capable of facilitating large-scale AI implementation for its customers. A key objective was to equip businesses with improved tools for preparing their data for effective AI utilization.

“The journey towards advanced ‘AI heaven,’ as I often describe it, inevitably involves navigating significant data challenges,” Rewari stated.

He emphasized that Data.World’s capabilities align perfectly with addressing this challenge, as the platform excels at organizing and enabling efficient data searches within enterprises. Integrating Data.World’s data governance tools will maximize the potential of AI agents and other automation technologies, according to Rewari.

Expanding ServiceNow’s Product Portfolio

“We evaluated numerous companies and were particularly impressed by their advancements,” he added. “Their progress in metadata management and knowledge infrastructure – providing data cataloging across large organizations and governing that data – represents a valuable addition to our product offerings.”

Following the deal’s completion, Data.World will be integrated into ServiceNow’s ecosystem. The platform will subsequently be made available as a product offering to ServiceNow’s customer base.

Recent Acquisitions Reflect AI Focus

This acquisition marks ServiceNow’s second in recent months.

In March, ServiceNow announced the acquisition of Moveworks, a developer of enterprise-grade automation and AI solutions, for a sum of $2.85 billion.

Alignment with Agentic AI Strategy

These strategic acquisitions are consistent with ServiceNow’s broader plan to embrace agentic AI and the necessary tools for its development. Philip Kirk, Senior Vice President of corporate business development at ServiceNow, shared with TechCrunch in March that the company intends to pursue a combined strategy of internal development and acquisitions to advance its AI capabilities.

“Currently, we’re engaged in a complex assessment to determine the optimal approach – whether to build, buy, or partner,” Kirk explained. “Our primary focus is making decisions that prioritize the long-term benefits for our customers and reinforce our leadership in enterprise automation within our platform.”

Correction

Updated 10:09 a.m. PT: A previous iteration of this article incorrectly referred to Data.World as “Declan.” ServiceNow provided TechCrunch with a blog post containing this name, which a company spokesperson later clarified as internal product nomenclature not intended for public release. We apologize for this error.