CIKISI & IXXO announce their merger to become a Market Intelligence leader

CIKISI and IXXO join forces to create a European Market Intelligence leader.

CIKISI, with more than 100,000 users, takes a major step forward in its growth by merging with IXXO, a recognized player with 20 years of expertise in the field. This strategic alliance gives rise to a key leader in Market Intelligence, combining cutting-edge technology with human expertise. Together, the two companies establish themselves as the major solution for French and European businesses looking to turn intelligence into a true strategic asset.

CIKISI is a Belgian company founded in 2017, it provides B2B businesses with a powerful tool that delivers a mix of insights, real-time information and data to accelerate decision-making and enhance market understanding. It was one of the first organizations to integrate artificial intelligence into its Market Intelligence solution, and CIKISI is widely regarded by some experts as the most high-performance tool in the industry, solidifying its position as a key player in the field. With its new acquisition of IXXO, a long-established company specializing in Strategic Intelligence tools for businesses, CIKISI’s ambitions are clear: to become the second-leading European provider of Strategic Intelligence solutions in the French market. The firm IXXO now is a Lyon-based company founded in 2002, and it was one of the first organizations to think up and develop a Market Intelligence tool for businesses, solidifying its position as a pioneer in the field. In 2014, IXXO joined the Neotis Group, propelling the company to new heights.

Words from the founders after this major merger

Valéry Mainjot – CEO of CIKISI:

« With 20 years of presence in the market, IXXO is renowned for the quality of its support and its deep expertise in Market Intelligence projects. Its founders are among the pioneers of Web Intelligence and they have built a small team with genuine specialists in our field. Beyond strengthening our R&D and enhancing our solution’s performance, we were particularly impressed by their team’s ability to conduct consulting missions and studies, an aspect we previously lacked and that is prove to be extremely required for our clients’ projects development. For CIKISI, this merger also marks a significant expansion of our physical presence in France where we now generate 60 % of our turnover. Thanks to this strategic move, we become together the second Strategic Intelligence European player in France and the one with the largest growth. »

Louis-Marc Perez – COO of IXXO:

« In a constantly evolving market with increasingly demanding needs and rapid technological advancements, the merger of our two companies became an obvious decision. Our expertise, our technologies and our teams complement each other perfectly and we firmly believe that 1 + 1 will equal 3. This merger creates a unique, powerful and comprehensive offering that combines the best in automated data collection, semantic analysis and artificial intelligence, to support organizations in every dimension of their monitoring. But beyond technology, this is above all the meeting of two passionate and dedicated teams coming together to deliver a solution that truly meets our clients’ challenges. We are convinced that this union will make a difference, today and tomorrow. »

What benefits for our clients?

Strong complementarity to serve users. With this merger, CIKISI and IXXO bring together an enhanced expertise to support the most ambitious projects, an enriched technological offering designed to meet diverse monitoring needs, as well as an innovative, intuitive and hosted in France platform, combining performance, security and compliance.

• All our clients will benefit from an enriched platform that integrates the best technologies from both companies. CIKISI brings market-recognized technological modules known as the most advanced : its proprietary Web index, its search engine, its highly flexible sharing capabilities, and its AI-powered assistant Mila. Meanwhile, IXXO brings highly distinctive modules in the market, such as deep web mining capabilities for uncovering valuable insights, and sophisticated data visualizations.
  
  By the end of the year, both platforms will be fully integrated into a single solution, built on the foundation of CIKISI’s current tool.
  
  
  
• They will also take advantage of an access to a more comprehensive intelligence with the merging of databases, integrated data sources and analytical algorithms. The merging of both companies’ databases will also significantly expand the informational coverage for all projects, ensuring a better fit for the specific needs of businesses.
  
  
  
• The respective clients of both companies will have available a tool that gathers the specializations of both firms and that enlarges the sectoral research coverage. Thanks to the distinct strengths of each company, the offering of the new entity will be reinforced. CIKISI excelling in Market & Competitive Intelligence projects and IXXO excelling in projects related to innovation and technology.
  
  
  
• French companies will particularly benefit from close proximity to IXXO’s teams who will continue serving as their dedicated consultants. The merger between CIKISI and IXXO is driven by a strong commitment:  supporting clients over the long term by ensuring seamless continuity in relationships and services. As part of this transition, IXXO’s teams are joining CIKISI effective immediately, while maintaining their establishment in Lyon: Louis-Marc Perez is appointed Sales & Marketing Director for France, Dominique Sussot becomes Director of Services, and Stéphanie Jacquemont takes over Product Management, thus ensuring a functional, smooth and efficient integration.
  
  
  
• Finally, our clients will now have access to market research studies conducted by CIKISI’s new teams providing help for projects development. A support, from defining business needs to operational execution, to allow companies to focus more on analysis and decision-making.
  
  
  
  

« This merger is a fantastic opportunity to offer our clients an even more comprehensive and innovative solution, while maintaining the high-quality support that has been the strength of our two companies. » – Louis-Marc Perez, COO of IXXO

« This union allows us to take a significant step forward in our growth by combining technological innovation with close human support, ensuring we continue to meet our clients’ expectations in the best possible way. » – Valéry Mainjot, CEO of CIKISI

Exclusive preview at Documation on March 19 & 20 2025!
The CIKISI and IXXO teams will present this new unified offering at the Documation trade show, where they will co-host the event.