DATA PROVIDER DATABASE

• Zaoshu.io - coding-free web scraping platform focused on Chinese companies. Tracks JD and AMZN.
• RandomWalk - consumer foot traffic (geolocation) and email receipt data on 15K stores, including BBBY, COH, JCP, HD, FL, KORS, SHOP, and TGT.
• 7Park Data - launched a transactional data product offering data on B2B spending.
• BayStreet Research - research on U.S. and European smartphone, tablet, and wearable markets. Has a database of mobile device sell-through data with rolling 6-month forecasts, and retail & wholesale pricing at the SKU level.

• Narrative.io - data marketplace with 50 data providers primarily location data (13), ID mapping (13), and web traffic (10).
• Arcadia Data - data analytics provider and systems consultant.
• Alt Hub - new alternative data broker.
• Solution Loft - builds customized data solutions, including web scraping.
• Tegus - expert network that transcribes theirs calls into a searchable database.
• Tala.co - collects data points on user behavior including geographic patterns and financial transactions.
• Kayrros - satellite data estimates on oil supply, inventory, and demand. Recently hired ex-GLG exec to push buy-side initiative. (Integrity Research,subscription required)
• Signal.co - aggregates consumer identity signals and activity across different marketing channels.
• Civic Science - consumer poll and surveys insights.
• FinScience - data analytics platform. Milan-based team closed €1mm seed round. (FinSmes)

• Visible Alpha, an analytics platform, acquired Alpha Exchange, a research management platform, expanding its offering into the research distribution space. (Nasdaq)
• SmartKarma, a research aggregator for the buy-side, raised $13.5mm Series B led by Sequoia India. Model capitalizes on MiFID II rules. (Bloomberg)
• YipitData published new data quantifying OTAs pushback on metasearch. Data enables look into metasearch market share on TRIP and TRVG for OTAs and direct hotel bidders, as well as Google ad appearance rates, averagerank and market share for hotel and vacation rental keywords. (YipitData)
• See full public database of 205 data providers. 

RFD (REQUEST FOR DATA) 

• Datasets on digital advertising, particularly ad inventories and CPCs.
• Data estimating advertising revenue for Facebook, Google, and Twitter.

NEWS & INSIGHTS

• Goldman Sachs leads $10mm investment in Crux Informatics, a data analytics platform, adding to the list of strategics investing in alternative data. (Reuters)
  • Point72 led $25mm Series A for database startup, FaunaDB. (PRnewswire)
  • Balyasny invested in geo-location alternative data provider, Cubiq. (Integrity Research, subscription required)
  • Coatue invested in data science infrastructure company, Domino Data Lab. (WSJ, subscription required)
  • $30B quant fund is opening its data unit to sell alternative data cleaning services to other financial institutions. (Bloomberg)
• 78% of funds use or expect to use alternative data, up from 52% in 2016. (EY Global HF and Investor Survey).
  • Alternative data playing a larger role in pension fund and LPs investment evaluations.
  • Difficulty onboarding/managing data and finding new data sources remain the two leading challenges in the space.
• Fund of funds are also getting into the data game. Jefferey Tarrant, manager of M37, gave an interview where he highlights the importance of hiring experienced data scientist to work with unstructured data. (Bloomberg Brief: Voices, subscription required)
  • Others like Point72 are doubling down on in-house training of younger talent to meet their data analysis/investment needs. (efinancecareers)
• YipitData accurately identified a deceleration of JD.com GMV ahead of 3Q17 earnings and published data indicating similar growth for 4Q. (YipitData)
• Sentieo, a sentiment data provider, analyzed past speeches and concludedthe Fed is increasingly more hawkish. (Sentieo)
• Earnest Research, a credit card data analytics company, had accurate measures of impact to restaurant sales in hurricane-struck markets. (NRN)
• Thasos CEO, Greg Skibiski, believes advertising industry likely to face more regulatory scrutiny than buy-side given their use of PII. (MarketsMedia)

UPCOMING EVENTS

• The BIG Alternative Data Showcase Event (New York, Dec. 5)
• Mitigating the Risks of Using Alternative Data - Integrity Research & YipitData (Webinar, Dec. 13 - invite to follow)
• Newsweek’s Artificial Intelligence & Data Science in Capital Markets (New York, Dec. 6-7)

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