TA Associates invests in Accion Labs

The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in Pittsburgh in 2011, Accion’s expertise ranges across advanced UX [user experience], artificial intelligence and machine learning, big-data/analytics, migration to cloud/SaaS [software as a service] and re-engineering of legacy platforms, process automation, mobility, augmented reality and Internet Of Things.

The company’s clients include software product companies, e-SaaS firms, e-business organizations and enterprises undergoing digital transformation across a range of industries such as healthcare, financial services, technology and fintech. Accion has more than 2,600 engineers across 14 offices in the US, Canada, the UK and Asia-Pacific.

K&L Gates LLP served as US counsel, Lexygen India served as Indian counsel, KPMG served as tax advisor and Avendus Capital served as investment banker to Accion Labs and Basil Technology Partners. Goodwin Procter LLP served as legal counsel and Ernst & Young served as tax advisor to TA Associates. TA Associates Advisory Private Limited also advised on the transaction.

Kinesh Doshi, founder and CEO of Accion Labs: “In choosing to partner with TA, Accion and the Basil team were particularly attracted by the firm’s global presence, long history of investing in the technology sector and experience in growing portfolio companies through M&A. We believe that TA will prove to be a valuable partner as we seek to further grow Accion organically and through acquisitions, with a particular focus on the U.S. and European markets.”

Aditya Sharma (pictured), principal at TA Associates Advisory Private Limited, said: “TA is delighted to invest in Accion, an innovative leader in the growing digital engineering space. We are excited by Accion’s rapid growth, strong global leadership team, expertise in emerging technologies, proprietary accelerators and IP, and deeply integrated customer relationships.”

Management and strategy consulting firm Zinnov estimated the annual spend on digital engineering across all industries at $160 billion in 2018, with approximately 60 per cent of that expenditure in the US, followed by Western Europe and Asia-Pacific. Zinnov predicted a compound annual growth rate for the sector of 19 per cent to $380 billion until 2023.

“Spending in the digital engineering market is being driven by technology and business model innovations, growth in technology companies, including start-ups, and the emergence of a global digital ecosystem,” said Dhiraj Poddar, managing director at TA Associates Advisory Private Limited. “With its innovative and solutions-driven approach, we believe that Accion is well-positioned to continue capitalizing on these trends and further grow its market share in this vibrant industry.”

Sharma and Poddar will join the board of directors of Accion Labs.

TA Associates is focused on five industries – technology, healthcare, financial services, consumer and business services. It has raised $33.5 billion in capital since its founding in 1968 and is committing to new investments at the pace of more than $2 billion per year.