SAS Buys London's Hazy to Boost Synthetic Data Offer

US-based software corporation SAS has acquired the principal software assets of London-based synthetic data specialist Hazy, bolstering its AI applications and promising 'future integration opportunities' with its SAS Viya platform. Financial terms were not disclosed.

SAS, whose software promises businesses 'THE POWER TO KNOW', says the integration will help its customers 'to innovate and conduct deep research, overcoming challenges related to data availability, access or quality'. The firm launched its own synthetic data solution, Data Maker, earlier this year, and says that in combination with Hazy's tech this can simulate multiple future scenarios, accelerate the development cycle for AI projects and provide more robust AI systems. It will also minimize reliance on costly data collection methods and enhance data privacy and security, 'by generating synthetic data that does not expose real, identifiable information, allowing organizations to operate with confidence'.

These enhanced data solutions will be available globally, with an initial preview expected in early 2025. SAS Chief Executive Jim Goodnight comments: 'Our acquisition of Hazy's IP represents a pivotal step in our commitment to innovation in the next generation of data management and AI. Hazy is a pioneer in bringing synthetic data to market as a viable enterprise product, and analysts rank it among the top software providers in its category. By integrating their technology, we can offer our customers unparalleled opportunities to harness data safely and effectively, enabling them to experiment and model scenarios that were previously out of reach and gain a competitive advantage'. CTO Bryan Harris adds: 'Analysts predict that by 2026, 75% of businesses will use generative AI to create synthetic customer data, up from less than 5% in 2023'.

Web site: www.sas.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.