Brightflow AI Acquires CircleUp to Bolster Financial Insights Tool

Brightflow AI has acquired CircleUp to bolster its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered financial insights tool.

The deal will add the data and insights on emerging brands and trends in consumer packaged goods from CircleUp’s Helio insight engine to Brightflow AI’s financial data and intelligence platform for small businesses, Brightflow AI said in a Thursday (June 1) press release.

“By acquiring CircleUp’s Helio platform, we’re able to deepen our data, machine learning and analytics capabilities, strengthen our own financial intelligence platform and provide our customers with the most comprehensive solution available,” Brightflow AI CEO and Co-founder Robbie Bhathal said in the release.

The Brightflow AI platform is designed for small businesses — including both online and offline brands — and helps them make data-backed decisions, according to the press release.

The addition of CircleUp’s Helio data platform will strengthen the machine learning (ML) algorithms Brightflow AI uses to build cash flow forecasts, cash management tools and underwriting analyses, according to the release.

“We are excited to create a new standard for financial intelligence for consumer companies,” CircleUp Chairman and founder Ryan Caldbeck said in a Friday (June 2) press release. “The acquisition by Brightflow AI allows us to provide our customers with the data, insights and tools they need to grow their businesses faster and more efficiently.”

Brightflow AI and CircleUp had already partnered in March to help brand apply for business loans by using Brightflow AI’s software and data to service CircleUp’s loan portfolio.

Six months before that, in September 2022, Brightflow raised $19 million in new funding and said it would use it to boost its platform, hire new talent and provide faster growth opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

“Brightflow AI is the trusted advisor small business owners can rely on,” Bhathal said at the time. “Our solution provides equitable access to the financial resources small businesses need to succeed, enabling business owners to manage opportunities and challenges more effectively.”

One company using data to improve its operations is the dining and entertainment chain Dave & Buster’s.

The company said in March that it is using consumer data to personalize the in-restaurant journey and enhance the experience.