Informatica, a company offering a comprehensive suite of data analysis, management, and sharing tools for businesses, has announced its acquisition of Privitar, a UK-based data access startup. The strategic acquisition will strengthen Informatica's data management stack and help businesses better navigate the ever-growing data landscape.
The terms of the deal have not been disclosed. Since its inception in 2014, Privitar has raised over $150 million in funding from notable investors such as Accel, Warburg Pincus, Salesforce, HSBC, and Citigroup. The company's last valuation exceeded $400 million, which dates back to 2020 during its latest round of fundraising, an $80 million Series C led by Warburg Pincus.
As valuations face downward pressure in the current market, many companies struggle to complete rounds, even under unfavorable conditions. With the decrease in mergers and acquisitions (M&A), the narrative has shifted towards a buyer's market with less competition for deals.
Consolidation is an ongoing trend in enterprise IT, with customers looking to minimize suppliers, streamline processes, and reduce costs. On the other hand, as smaller tech firms struggle to secure funding, bigger players step in, seeking to offer a holistic solution to customers. Informatica's purchase of Privitar falls under both these trends.
Privitar initially focused on privacy in big data analytics, supplying tools for engineering privacy and protecting sensitive identifiers when using non-anonymized data. Eventually, the company broadened its scope to provide data management access for an organization's entire data infrastructure.
Despite a significant amount of discussion surrounding cloud migration and digital transformation in recent years, progress in these areas has been slow. Consequently, businesses are in search of more cost-effective ways to improve their data and IT strategies.
Jitesh Ghai, Informatica's EVP and Chief Product Officer, shared his views on the current state of IT purchases by explaining the increased fragmentation in data management tools across warehouses, lakes, clouds, and on-premise infrastructures. He emphasized the need for a unified solution to streamline the data management framework for Informatica and Privitar's customers.
Prior to this acquisition, Privitar had already tapped into the consolidation trend, and Ghai anticipates further growth and acquisitions for Informatica. He acknowledged the immense amount of investment and innovation in the data analysis sector, stating that Informatica is continuously on the lookout for new and best-in-class technologies to bolster their offerings.
As the landscape of data management continues to expand, tools like Informatica's Intelligent Data Management Cloud and the expertise of acquired startups like Privitar promise a more effective and efficient approach to handling data needs. Platforms like AppMaster provide sophisticated yet accessible solutions, enabling businesses to remain agile, integrated, and effective in a market driven by the rapid evolution of data management technology.
