India-based analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions company Course5 Intelligence, announced Tuesdasy that it has successfully completed its round of funding of $53 million with second close led by Nuvama Crossover Series of funds, managed by Nuvama Asset Management Limited.

The second close also saw participation by Carnelian Asset Advisors Pvt Ltd. and affiliates, Course5 Intelligence said in a statement.

This funding follows the first close done with 360 ONE Asset Management Limited (formerly known as IIFL Asset Management Limited) in May 2023.

According to the statement, this funding will be augmented by the company’s own cash reserves and cash accruals to provide for an merger and acquisitions (M&A) war chest in the range of $80 million.

“The data and AI revolution is finally here and the scope and scale of AI deployments across global enterprises are going to rapidly increase in the coming years,” said Ashwin Mittal, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Course5 Intelligence.

According to him, recent advances in generative AI, natural language and computer perception have completely removed the boundaries of what is possible.

“We want to ensure we maintain our leadership position amongst AI and analytics solution providers by adding strategically to our portfolio to maximize our value proposition to global corporates,” he added.

According to the statement, the penetration of advanced analytics and AI in enterprises is at a very nascent stage globally and recent advances in technological innovations may be the tipping point for wide-spread, democratic adoption across industries and one that will likely see consistent growth over the next decade.

Partnering with Course5 to capitalize on this opportunity is a natural fit for Nuvama Private Equity’s Crossover fund strategy, that has over time successfully identified and invested in leaders across sectors with structural growth, and in companies with established business models and seasoned management teams.

“Increase in complexity, type and usage of data across the world and significant advancement in technologies including AI is driving adoption of data driven intelligence through enterprises like never before across the globe,” said Pranav Parikh, Managing Partner, Nuvama Private Equity.

He sees this as a structural long-term trend, and strongly believes that Course5 is very well-placed to benefit from this wave of acceleration, given its marquee client base, industry domain expertise and its effective delivery model.

Carnelian Asset Advisors Pvt Ltd Founder Vikas Khemani said that data analytics and AI is a big revolution ahead and growing at a rapid pace transforming and disrupting businesses.

“Course5 is well placed to capture this huge opportunity over the next decade. We believe Course5 will create superior value for all its stakeholders in years to come,” he said.

Course5 Intelligence has a structured M&A agenda, looking at synergistic assets in the United States, the United Kingdom and India, each in the range of $10 million to $20 million in revenue as well as smaller deep tech AI startups.

This growth funding round will fortify Course5’s inorganic growth plans and allow the company to leverage the synergies by adding new intellectual property (IP), capabilities, talent, and/or key client relationships.

Course5 has also absorbed Incivus, an AI-based Ad creation and optimization technology startup.

Incivus provides a precise, objective and granular evaluation of all creative variables of an Ad and predicts the likelihood of success with technologies like Computer Vision, Computer Audition, Generative AI, and Natural Language Processing (NLP).

Generative AI, in particular, extends Incivus’ capabilities to generate new ad creatives and modify existing ones.

The Incivus platform helps marketing teams optimize the effectiveness of their digital ads before launch, helping them improve their return on investment (ROI), speed to market, and create advertisements that resonate most effectively with target audiences.

Course5 is currently in talks with five companies and plans to complete two acquisitions, over a period of 12 months.

In addition to mergers and acquisitions, Course5 plans to use the investor funds for further innovation in specific areas of applied AI such as deep learning, computer perception, natural language, and Generative AI via Course5’s AI Labs.

India’s Course5 Intelligence raises $55M funding led by 360 ONE Asset