Indian big data innovator Mu Sigma acquires Singaporean social media analyzer Webfluenz

Big data analytics innovator Mu Sigma, based in Chicago and Bangalore, has acquired the Singapore-based social media analytics firm Webfluenz.

In a blog post on the acquisition, Webfluenz says:

Webfluenz has been working with Mu Sigma on a variety of solutions and will add significantly to Mu Sigma’s products portfolio in serving our clients’ advanced needs going beyond traditional social media monitoring.

Mu Sigma, one of the most successful Indian tech startups, with a billion-dollar valuation, counts more than a quarter of Fortune 500 companies among its customers. Its USP is to conflate data from multiple sources – people and machines, processes and platforms – to help its clients make intelligent decisions in critical areas like risk, supply chain, and marketing. Mu Sigma employs over 3,000 decision scientists with experience across 10 verticals.

In recent times, Mu Sigma has been shifting its focus from a service-based approach to creating big data products that can be accessible to a wider and much larger set of customers. The Webfluenz acquisition will take this forward faster. As Webfluenz explains:

We are integrating with Mu Sigma products like muText and muESP to create next generation products that enable real time intelligence at the confluence of structured and unstructured data.

Webfluenz has been providing tools and solutions for companies to monitor, analyze and manage social media. Bharani Setlur, a graduate of The National Institute of Design, and Harish Madabushi from the Chennai Mathematical Institute started the Singapore-based company in 2010. Its clients range from advertising firms like Ogilvy to ecommerce clients like Myntra.

Mu Sigma was a brain-child of Dhiraj Rajaram, a former consultant for Booz Allen Hamilton who sold his house in Chicago to fund the startup in 2004. Microsoft was one of its first clients, as Mu Sigma brought an inter-disciplinary approach to analytics at a time when big data was a nascent field. Big players like IBM and Accenture were active in this area, but Mu Sigma had the idea of bringing together talent in mathematics, economics and data for integrated solutions.

Mu Sigma raised US$25 million from Sequoia Capital in 2011. The financial terms of the Webfluenz acquisition have yet to be disclosed.