The Future of Alternative Data report: AI integration, spending trends and hot datasets

Alternative data purchasing budgets are projected to rise in 2025 after a strong 2024, according to Neudata’s The Future of Alternative Data report. The report is available for download here >

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Key findings from the report include:

• Budget boom expected in 2025: The mood among alternative data buyers and sellers is one of confidence. A remarkable 95% of buyers anticipate maintaining or increasing their data budgets next year, while more than 70% of data vendors have already seen a surge in subscriptions in 2024. Two-thirds of vendors are optimistic about continued sales growth, signalling a bullish outlook for the sector.
• Big spenders are expanding portfolios: Data buyers are subscribing to an average of 20 datasets annually, with total spending averaging $1.6m per year. However, the industry’s largest firms are in a league of their own, subscribing to an average of 43 datasets, which dwarfs the — on average — eight datasets that firms with smaller budgets are subscribing to. 
• Pricing presents a hurdle, but datasets are sticky: While 62% of buyers cite high prices as the primary hurdle to adopting new data, loyalty to current subscriptions is unwavering. Over 90% of buyers retain their subscriptions once they’re on board, signalling that the value of alternative data outweighs the cost for those who’ve already bought in.
• What’s next in data demand: Expect data buyers to seek out more B2B data, data from emerging markets, transactional data and under-the-radar datasets in 2025. The appetite for cutting-edge insights is growing, and firms are eager to uncover new opportunities.
• AI takes centre stage: Artificial intelligence is no longer a buzzword — it’s embedded in the industry’s DNA. With nearly half of all vendors offering data that powers AI models, and only 15.5% of data buyer firms not yet using AI, the transformative potential of AI-driven analysis is shaping the future of alternative data.

“It’s no surprise to see the strong appetite for alternative data growing across industries, as more private equity/venture capital firms and consultancies join the hedge fund industry in discovering how valuable alternative data can be,” said Rado Lipuš, CEO and founder of Neudata. “We were heartened to see both data buyers and sellers expressing their enthusiasm for continued growth in our space, and we look forward to supporting their needs for more novel forms of data and a more frictionless data buying/onboarding experience in 2025.”

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About The Future of Alternative Data survey: Neudata surveyed 157 respondents — 60 data buyers and 97 data providers — during June and July 2024. Over half of data buyer respondents followed quantitative investing strategies, but discretionary, credit and macro funds, as well as private equity and venture capital firms, were well represented in the data as well. We estimate the collective annual data budget of the buyers who responded to the survey to be around $100m per year. We estimate the total annual revenue of the data providers who responded at roughly $660m.

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About Neudata: Neudata provides actionable, unbiased market intelligence to buyers and sellers of market and alternative data. Combining human-powered data scouting services and a cutting-edge technology platform, Neudata’s data expertise provides time- and money-saving insights for clients across the expanding data ecosystem.

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