Mid-market private equity investor ECI Partners has launched a cloud-based platform powered by artificial intelligence (AI) to boost the M&A pipeline of its portfolio companies.

The new technology, called Amplifind 360, gives portfolio M&A teams access to firmographic data which aims to help track and evaluate global targets.

The technology is based on Amplifind, an AI tool ECI built in 2020 for internal purposes, including giving it access to proprietary data to help its origination team find and evaluate opportunities.

ECI Partners said that Amplifind 360 focuses specifically on facilitating collaboration between teams through real-time engagement, enabling management and originations teams to stay connected and aligned throughout the M&A process.

Suzanne Pike, partner and head of origination at ECI commented on the launch: “Amplifind360 makes M&A more efficient, giving our portfolio companies the tools they need to move faster, work smarter, and stay ahead of the market.”

She pointed out that M&A represents a major value driver for ECI’s portfolio, with the platform seeking to ensure teams can focus on the right target prospects earlier in the process.

“With all the right data sources surfaced in one place, in a format that’s easy to digest, it allows for smarter decision-making and more effective pipeline management,” she added.

The technology uses ECI’s proprietary data, business processes, subsector theses, and investment criteria.

“It was important to us that we didn’t have to adjust our approach to fit the technology,” said Pike. “Instead, we created a system that supports how we already work.”

The origination specialist added that investors worked with its growth specialists and AI teams at Manchester University to help shape the strategy behind the platform, exploring how advanced Natural Language Processing (NLP) can help the investor score companies against its subsector theses more effectively.

The investor's next plan is the launch of Amplifind KnowledgeBot, a gen AI tool designed to bring out insights faster and more effectively.

ECI manages funds of over £2 billion and invests in growth businesses valued up to £300 million, investing as either a majority or a minority investor.

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