In 2020, ECI developed Amplifind™, our AI tool that uses proprietary data to source, prioritise and assess leads. Now we have rolled out our new Amplifind™360 platform to our portfolio, providing them a cloud-based platform to drive efficiency, visibility and collaboration across their M&A pipeline. We ask Suzanne Pike, Origination Team Partner, how it fuels teams’ M&A ambitions:
Q: What is Amplifind™360, and how is it different from ECI’s Amplifind™ product?
Amplifind™360 is a cloud-based platform designed to help our portfolio companies streamline their M&A processes and improve visibility and collaboration. Unlike the original Amplifind™ tool, which we use internally, this platform gives portfolio M&A teams the ability to track and assess global targets with ease, leveraging AI and automation to provide clear, digestible firmographic data.
Simply put, Amplifind™360 is about making M&A more efficient, giving our portfolio companies the tools they need to move faster, work smarter, and stay ahead of the market.
Q: How are our management teams able to use it to drive growth?
The platform provides unique firmographic data on acquisition targets across Europe and the US, offering a competitive edge by surfacing insights that might otherwise be difficult to uncover. By leveraging proprietary AI-powered data, our teams can effectively prioritise their M&A pipelines, ensuring they focus their time and resources on the best opportunities.
Beyond data, Amplifind™360 is designed for collaboration. It enables real-time engagement with the ECI team from anywhere, allowing deals to move forward faster and more smoothly. Whether it’s assessing a target, sharing insights, or refining a strategy, management teams can stay connected and aligned throughout the entire M&A process.
Q: What value do management teams get out of it?
One of the biggest advantages of Amplifind™360 is that it’s completely free for our portfolio companies to use, replacing spreadsheets that can slow down collaboration. Instead of working from disconnected documents, teams can now access live, dynamic data from anywhere.
M&A is a major value driver for our portfolio, so the platform ensures our teams can focus on the right target prospects earlier in the process. With all the right data sources surfaced in one place, in a format that’s easy to digest, it allows for smarter decision-making and more effective pipeline management. The result? More effective and efficient M&A across the businesses we back.
Q: Is it a unique product in the PE market?
Yes, Amplifind™360 is truly unique in the private equity market because we built it from the ground up rather than relying on an off-the-shelf solution. We designed it to work seamlessly with ECI’s proprietary data, business processes, subsector theses, and investment criteria. It was important to us that we didn’t have to adjust our approach to fit the technology. Instead, we created a system that supports how we already work.
Another key difference is that Amplifind™360 is owned by us, meaning we can give our management teams direct access to collaborate in real time rather than forcing them to work with static data offline.
The platform is also modular by design, making it flexible and adaptable as data, AI, and our business priorities evolve. From company insights and AI-powered lead sourcing to dynamic portfolio tools, Amplifind™360 offers a tailored solution that goes beyond what’s typically available in standard market tools.
Q: How have you worked with new data providers/partners to create a best-in-class product?
We’ve built an extensive network of data and technology professionals, both within our industry and beyond, who we regularly consult to help refine and improve Amplifind™360. This ongoing collaboration ensures we stay at the forefront of data, AI, and M&A technology.
We worked with our Growth Specialists to help shape the strategy behind the platform, helping us fine-tune how it supports our investment approach. We’re also working closely with the Applied AI team at Manchester University, exploring how advanced Natural Language Processing (NLP) can help us score companies against our subsector theses more effectively.
On the data side, we’ve recently migrated to Valu8, expanding our geographic coverage to key regions like the Nordics, DACH, and Benelux. By continuously investing in our partnerships, we ensure that Amplifind™360 remains a cutting-edge tool for our portfolio companies.
Q: How has the main Amplifind™ tool evolved since it was first launched at ECI?
When we first developed Amplifind™ in 2020, it was a machine learning tool with a supporting UI, designed to help our Origination Team source, prioritise and assess leads more effectively.
Since then, we’ve come a long way. Today, Amplifind™ has evolved into the data and AI engine that powers the full spectrum of origination activity, not just for ECI, but also for our portfolio companies.
We’ve continuously refined the platform, upgrading our machine learning models, introducing improved criteria and scoring mechanisms, and integrating new data sources and AI tools into the UI. This means richer company insights at our fingertips, whether assessing a lead in the UK or worldwide. And with our new Microsoft Fabric data warehouse, we’re rolling out upgraded BI visualisations this month, delivering even deeper insights into our deal pipeline.
With Amplifind™360, we’ve taken these capabilities even further by introducing automated market mapping using AI agents and data APIs, helping our portfolio companies streamline their M&A activity.
Q: What is next for how ECI are using AI to optimise its own origination efforts, as well as for its portfolio on M&A?
Our next priority is the launch of the Amplifind KnowledgeBot, a Gen AI-powered tool designed to surface insights faster and more effectively. By leveraging our rich proprietary Salesforce data alongside third-party sources in our Amplifind databases, the KnowledgeBot will help us extract valuable information in real time, making it even easier to identify and assess opportunities.
