Datasite, formerly Merrill Corp, expanding at rapid pace due to AI-powered services

Datasite has ballooned in revenue and headcount since changing its name from Merrill Corp. in March 2020.

The software-as-a-service provider for mergers and acquisitions has increased its headcount at its Minneapolis headquarters by 37%. And its revenue has increased nearly 40% between fiscal 2019 and 2021.

Over the past year, the company, which was acquired by London-based private equity firm CapVest Partners last year, has hosted half of the top 10 largest M&A deals in the U.S.. And it's now on pace to facilitate 12,000 deals per year in 170 countries and 14 languages.

Datasite's suite of products help companies throughout the whole lifecycle of an M&A deal, including organizing and sorting documents, reaching out to prospective buyers and dividing assets.

The company's success can largely be attributed to a growing product line that leverages artificial intelligence. In the past 18 months, Datasite has launched three new products: Prepare, which organizes documents; Acquire, which supports workflow on the buyer side of a deal; and Share, which allows companies to trade highly confidential documents with outside parties.

CEO Rusty Wiley said the company's business has flourished as Datasite's products all exist digitally, allowing deals to come together even as workers are at home.

For example, it can take a company weeks or months to organize and index tens of thousands of documents in the lead up to a deal. However, Datasite Prepare's machine-learning engine is able to read and categorize the documents, including adding redactions.

"That's just one example of where we're using AI to accelerate the velocity of a deal," Wiley said.

Datasite's tools are also playing a part in reducing burnout in bank analysts that prepare such deals. As banks are focused on attracting and retaining talent, it's in their best interest to get low-value, annoying tasks off the plates of young bankers, Wiley said.

"The company's software not only allows for more deals, but frees bankers to focus on higher level things," Wiley said.

Of Datasite's 900 employees globally, 400 work out of its new headquarters in downtown Minneapolis' Baker Center. Most of the company's engineers work out of Minneapolis, with their primary function being research and development.

Wiley said having a foothold in the Twin Cities, with its pipeline of educated workers, has been instrumental in retaining and attracting top engineers to build the company's cutting-edge products.

Wiley said he enjoys being at the helm of a company growing this fast because it has the ability to invest in its technology, while also continuing to hire.