In the private equity and venture capital space, companies have invested in the use of external data sources often referred to as “alternative data”, a broad term used to describe information coming from outside of the company’s internal systems. a business, including social media discussions, news feeds, government reports, industrial databases, anonymized credit card transactions and satellite images. For private investors looking to stay ahead of the curve, there are significant opportunities: from identifying potential investment opportunities and conducting due diligence to adding post-investment value. While these approaches have been refined by investors, they also offer models for how companies across industries can use alternative data.
