Seattle-based tax compliance company Avalara has acquired Indix, a Seattle startup that had accumulated vast amounts of data on product information.
Avalara, which went public this past June year, will use Indix technology to bolster its tax content database that includes everything from international product codes and classifications to taxability rules.
“We believe the combination of deep product knowledge, broad product content, and artificial intelligence technology will allow us to provide our customers the information they want and need to factor compliance into their business decision-making, and for Avalara to address more compliance requirements to support their growth,” Avalara CEO Scott McFarlane said in a statement.
Founded in 2013 by former longtime Microsoft executive Sanjay Parthasarathy, Indix developed an intelligence platform that helps businesses analyze and visualize product information across various industries. The company had raised more than $30 million from investors.
“From day one, we built Indix to collect, organize, and structure the world’s product information using artificial intelligence,” Parthasarathy said in a statement. “With the addition of the Indix expertise, Avalara will be able to efficiently and rapidly refine its content to meet the expanding and evolving needs of its customers.”
Parthasarathy, who is well known in Microsoft circles — he hired current CEO Satya Nadella into the tech giant’s product group in the early 1990s — said that Indix is no longer an active company. It employed 40 people in India; 36 of them will stay on with Avalara. There were four Indix employees in Seattle; three will join Avalara. Parthasarathy told GeekWire he’s still figuring out the details of his next step.
This is Avalara’s 11th acquisition to date. Last month Avalara acquired Compli, a California-based company that helps makers of alcoholic beverages comply with government rules and regulations. Avalara has grown to more than 1,600 employees across 12 offices around the world.
Avalara posted a net loss of $9 million on revenue of $69.5 million for the third quarter. Its stock is down about 10 percent from the closing price on listing day. The company will report fourth quarter earnings next week.
