ServiceNow Expands Portfolio: Acquires Data.World Following Moveworks Acquisition
ServiceNow, a leading enterprise workflow management platform, has announced its second significant acquisition related to artificial intelligence (AI) this year. The company has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Data.World, a cloud-native platform specializing in data cataloging and governance. This strategic move aims to enhance ServiceNow’s capabilities to help businesses deploy AI solutions at scale.
Details of the Acquisition
Founded in 2015 and based in Austin, Texas, Data.World has successfully raised over $130 million in venture capital from notable firms such as Alumni Ventures, Prologis Ventures, and Shasta Ventures according to Crunchbase. The terms of the acquisition deal were not disclosed, but Data.World was valued at approximately $350 million during its $50 million Series C funding round in 2022, as reported by PitchBook.
Why Data.World?
Gaurav Rewari, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Data Analytics at ServiceNow, shared insights with TechCrunch about the company’s vision for this acquisition. ServiceNow aims to provide businesses with the necessary tools to make their data “AI-ready.” Rewari emphasized the challenges companies face in navigating data complexities, stating:
“As I like to say, this path to agentic ‘AI heaven’ goes through some form of data hell, and that’s the grim reality.”
Enhancing AI Capabilities
Rewari highlighted that Data.World’s robust platform will enable enterprises to efficiently organize and search their data. The integration of Data.World’s data governance tools is expected to optimize the performance of AI agents and automation solutions for ServiceNow customers. He remarked:
“We felt that the whole journey that they were on, with respect to metadata management and knowledge-based infrastructure, could be an extremely important addition to our product portfolio.”
Future Integration Plans
Once the acquisition is finalized, Data.World will start integrating its services into ServiceNow. The platform will soon be made available as a product for ServiceNow’s customer base.
Previous Acquisitions
This acquisition marks ServiceNow’s second significant purchase in recent months. In March, the company announced its agreement to acquire Moveworks, a developer of enterprise-focused automation and AI tools, for approximately $2.85 billion. These acquisitions align with ServiceNow’s strategy to enhance its capabilities in agentic AI.
Strategic Vision for AI Development
Philip Kirk, ServiceNow’s SVP of Corporate Business Development, recently discussed the company’s approach towards embracing agentic AI. He described their strategy as a mix of building and acquiring capabilities, emphasizing the importance of prioritizing long-term interests for customers. Kirk noted:
“It is kind of three-dimensional chess right now to figure out whether to build, buy, or partner.”
For more information about ServiceNow’s innovations and acquisitions, visit their official website.
Updated: An earlier version of this article mistakenly referred to Data.World as “Declan.” This name was used in an internal blog post, but has since been corrected. We apologize for the error.
