Mitsui pours $58m into Axiata’s AI unit

ADA CEO Srinivas Gattamneni / Photo credit: ADA

Mitsui, a Japanese conglomerate, has invested US$58 million in Axiata Digital & Analytics (ADA), the data and AI unit of Malaysian telco Axiata. This brings ADA’s valuation to US$550 million.

The deal was made through Axiata Digital Services (ADS), ADA’s parent company, thus increasing Mitsui’s stake in ADS to 20%. In turn, Mitsui holds a 12.69% stake in ADA.

“We are excited about the prospect of deepening our collaboration with Mitsui to empower their partners with cutting-edge data, AI, and technology solutions,” said ADA CEO Srinivas Gattamneni in a statement.

The company also said that it is pursuing unicorn status in the AI, data analytics, and digital transformation space.

In 2019, Mitsui acquired a stake in ADS, which was valued at US$500 million. Earlier this year, however, Axiata announced plans to sell stakes in some of its businesses as its debt had surged to US$7.9 billion following overseas expansion efforts.

ADA specializes in the design and execution of integrated digital, analytics, and marketing solutions. Other than Axiata and Mitsui, its backers include SoftBank – which invested US$60 million for a 23% stake – and Sumitomo.

In mid-2022, ADA also acquired the ecommerce arm of Singapore Post, the city-state’s public postal service.

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