AltX

AltX, founded in 2012 by Sam Hocking, operated as an intelligence platform tailored for the hedge fund market from its headquarters in San Francisco. The company, which also went by the name iMATCHATIVE, was established to bring greater clarity to the traditionally opaque alternative investment space. Hocking, who served as CEO, leveraged his extensive background in finance, including roles as a Managing Director at BNP Paribas and Bank of America, to address the data and distribution challenges he observed in the private securities market. His journey into entrepreneurship was fueled by a desire to apply big data, machine learning, and analytics to solve complex problems for investors, an idea that solidified after attending an executive program at Harvard Business School.

The firm developed a cloud-based platform that provided a comprehensive data, intelligence, and collaboration service for entities servicing, targeting, or investing in hedge funds. It served a wide range of investment professionals from hedge funds, investment banks, pension funds, asset managers, and family offices. AltX's business model was based on a licensing fee, where investors paid for access to a database of over 16,000 hedge funds, and hedge funds paid a fee to be featured. This created a two-sided marketplace designed to facilitate more compatible and sustainable investment partnerships.

The platform's core offering was its ability to meld proprietary algorithms, behavioral science, social profiling, and relationship mapping with traditional financial analytics and regulatory data. By triangulating disparate unstructured and structured data, AltX provided users with unique intelligence to improve decision-making. Features included analytics to flag inconsistencies, customized news feeds, and the ability for users to integrate their own data, notes, and third-party subscriptions. The platform aimed to automate the discovery and due diligence process, allowing users to distill a vast universe of funds down to a select few that best fit their specific criteria.

AltX secured a total of $24.2 million in funding over three rounds, attracting notable investors such as David Bonderman and Carlos Slim. Its trajectory as a disruptor in the fintech space was recognized by The Financial Times in 2015. The company's journey culminated on May 17, 2017, when it was acquired by Addepar, a wealth management technology company. The acquisition was a strategic move by Addepar to deepen its capabilities in the high-growth alternative investments sector, integrating AltX's machine learning technology to provide clients with greater visibility and insights into assets like hedge funds, private equity, and venture capital.

Keywords: AltX, iMATCHATIVE, Sam Hocking, hedge fund intelligence, alternative investment platform, financial analytics, behavioral finance, big data, machine learning algorithms, capital introduction, due diligence, investor matching, portfolio management, fintech, Addepar acquisition, private securities marketplace, investment research, data-driven investment, wealth management technology, asset allocation