Blend360, a global provider of data, analytics and talent solutions for Fortune 500 companies, announced today that Recognize, a technology investment platform focused on the tech services sector, has invested $100 million for a minority stake to continue driving growth in Blend360. This is Blend360’s first institutional investment and marks the start of the next chapter of the company’s strategy.
“We intend to become the premier service provider of AI and ML solutions that optimize business results and this investment is another significant step in our journey to do just that,” said Patrick Hennessy, CEO & Co-founder of Blend360. “Just six years ago, Tim and I started with a vision to build an elite people-based data and analytics solutions company and our organic growth trajectory has been amazing. To get us to the next level, we realized we needed a best-in-class partner–and that’s what we found in Recognize.”
In 2016 and after 20 years of working together at Merkle, co-founders Patrick Hennessy and Tim Berry launched Blend360 in the data science and talent solutions space. Since then, the company has emerged as an industry leader with a world-class client base. Blend offers differentiated services and accelerators in data, tech, analytics and consultant solutions. Blend is excited to tap into the Recognize team’s experience and expertise in operating and scaling some of the largest technology and services businesses.
“When we first connected with Patrick, Tim and the Blend360 team, there was immediate alignment between our expertise at Recognize and the needs of Blend360 to continue this incredible growth they’ve experienced,” said Frank D’Souza, Co-founder & Managing Partner of Recognize. “Patrick and Tim understand how to create, operate and scale a business and we’re looking forward to supporting their efforts through this investment and the ongoing strategic advice we will be providing to maximize this opportunity.”
“There has been tremendous interest to invest in Blend from many great firms and Recognize stood out as the best fit for us. They understand what we are doing and the insights we bring and are extremely passionate about services companies in the data and analytics business,” said Tim Berry, Co-founder of Blend360. “There’s a real market opportunity in this space and, together with Recognize, we will continue to build the preeminent data, analytics, and tech solutions firm.”
Frank D’Souza and Mike Grady, Partner at Recognize, will be joining Blend360’s board to provide strategic guidance and help expand Blend’s international footprint.
Evercore, a premier global independent investment banking advisory firm, was the exclusive financial partner to Blend360 on this transaction.
