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Pentad launches with its first acquisitions of Codec.ai and Versus

Date

June 2023

Sectors

Software

Deal Type

Merger/Acquisition

Our Role

Sell side & fundraising

About Codec.ai

Codec, an award-winning AI company, specialises in providing brands and agencies with actionable insights to help them connect to consumers in real-time. The company has worked with leading brands like Adidas, Unilever, Mars Wrigley, and Diageo, to power activities like brand and creative strategies, Metaverse entry strategies, and new product development. The company has been recognized as the ‘Best Artificial Intelligence Product in Marketing’ (CogX) and as one of the 'Hottest Artificial Intelligence Startups in Europe' (TechCrunch). With eight years of machine learning and proprietary intellectual property, Codec's models are trained to understand content and culture at scale. Codec has built a comprehensive global map of popular culture, encompassing over 35 markets worldwide, including China, to help companies grow market share and engage with audiences. With the ability to analyse approximately one billion pieces of content and user interactions every day, Codec moves brands away from reliance on a demographic understanding of audiences, generating valuable insights from the interests and passions of thousands of communities on a daily basis.

About Pentad

Pentad is an always-on operating system that generates creative solutions through custom community insight. It builds groups to elicit behavioural data that informs the way brands and agencies strategize, create, and distribute content. Pentad was formed through the acquisition of Codec, an AI company that specializes in cultural intelligence, combined with Versus, an Emmy-winning creative and production studio with multiple Cannes Lions to its name. Pentad's founding members are Martin Adams, Justin Barnes, and Alasdair Lloyd-Jones, who have extensive experience in AI, strategy, creativity, production, and business development. Pentad is headquartered in New York, with offices in London and Mexico City.

About the deal

The deal sees the launch of Pentad, through simultaneous acquisitions, it brings Codec together with Versus, an Emmy-winning creative and production studio, to develop a first-of-its-kind offering, fusing community intelligence with creative and production, solidifying Pentad as a powerful new global player in the creative industry. Codec and Versus will be the first in a string of mergers and acquisitions by Pentad.

Our work

We acted as exclusive financial adviser to the shareholders of Codec on their sale to Pentad.

I wouldn't think of using anyone else. WY Partner's depth of knowledge and network is excellent, and their agility and creativity is unmatched. I think of Will and the team at WY as real partners and I recommend them strongly.

Martin Adams

CEO & Co-Founder

Codec.ai

 

 

 

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