Centrica has today announced the first acquisition through its Centrica Innovations unit. Io-Tahoe, a wholly owned subsidiary of Centrica, has acquired the assets of Rokitt and their proprietary Rokitt Astra technology. Rokitt Astra is a data discovery software solution that enables companies to discover meaningful information from their data and data relationships through a unique set of machine learning algorithms. Rokitt is a technology company based in New Jersey, US.
The acquisition strengthens Centrica’s innovation technology pipeline and expertise in data science and analytics. This technology supports an important area of strategic focus and offers a leading data management solution when combined with the Io-Tahoe suite of smart solutions. The Rokitt Astra technology, recently recognized by leading Gartner analysts as a smart data discovery and modern stewardship solution, complements our existing data management capabilities, which include Data Tap, Fingerprinting and Concierge.
This represents Centrica Innovations’ first portfolio investment, following its commitment to invest £100 million over the next five years in start-ups, incubation and acceleration programs. It is directly aligned with the company’s customer-focused strategy to identify and invest in physical and digital technologies and innovative ideas that can deliver new products, offers and services to both residential and business customers.
Mike Young, Centrica’s Group Chief Information Officer said: “Digital technology, particularly big data and the actionable insights provided by data analytics are influencing and accelerating change in many markets, including the energy market. Data science and analytics are core components of our long-term technology strategy. The acquisition of Rokitt Astra is an exciting and value-creating addition to our digital technological capability.”
Upon completion, the Rokitt Astra team will become employees of Io-Tahoe LLC. Charles Cameron, Group Director of Technology, Engineering and Centrica Innovations said: “Centrica Innovations will benefit from the substantial expertise in the area of data discovery offered by Rokitt’s employees across the US, India and the Ukraine, where operations will continue. We welcome the Rokitt Astra team to Io-Tahoe.” Rokitt Co-Founders Oksana Sokolovsky and Rohit Mahajan said: “We are truly excited about the opportunity we have to continue to grow our business and the new achievements on the horizon through the combination of Rokitt Astra and Io-Tahoe.”
