Long arm of the law bridges Cambridge-US in $15m deal via Mills & Reeve

Cambridge lawyer Zickie Lim of Mills & Reeve advised US global financial digital platform, FactSet, on a $15 million Series A funding into UK provider of AI automation, Accelex.

The funding round, which included existing investors Illuminate Financial, AlbionVC, SixThirty Ventures and Expon Capital, coincides with a period of rapid growth for Accelex. 

In the past 24 months, it has added several top-tier asset owners and allocators along with asset servicers and service providers as clients. These firms now represent a combined asset base of more than $1.5 trillion, invested in more than 13,000 private market funds across 4,000 asset managers.

The fresh cash injection will further strengthen Wall Street-quoted FactSet’s relationship with Accelex, whose technology is already a key enabler in its private markets growth strategy. 

Rob Robie, Executive Vice-President, Head of Institutional Buyside at FactSet, said: “Data-driven decision-making is critical for our clients, particularly as their portfolios increase in exposure to private capital, where the acquisition, aggregation, and analysis of investment data has been a challenge. 

“We are thrilled to partner with Accelex on this journey to bring innovative solutions to private markets, united by our shared commitment to empowering the alternative investment community with superior data and analytics, enabling better investment outcomes.”

Zickie Lim, who is head of venture capital investments at Mills & Reeve said: “Accelex is already a leader in the alternative investment data market and this latest funding will solidify that position and provide vital capital to accelerate operations. 

“We’re thrilled to have advised FactSet on this transaction – FactSet is a renowned digital platform and enterprise solutions provider in the global financial sector so this is a fantastic partnership and we look forward to watching both businesses continue to go from strength the strength.”