In a nutshell
- Bulgarian Ontotext merges with Austria’s Semantic Web Company to form the new Graphwise, focusing on strengthening its global presence in AI powered by knowledge graphs.
- Graphwise would aim to enhance the return on investment (ROI) in artificial intelligence within the corporate sector by offering comprehensive and knowledge graph solutions.
Sealing the deal: AI and knowledge graphs to unlock smarter data insights
The global graph analytics market size was valued at $77.1 million in 2023. It is projected to reach $1,148.30 million by 2032, registering a CAGR of 35% during the forecast period (2024-2032). Moreover, graph technology provides a strong basis for visualizing, analyzing, and leveraging relationships between data entities, supporting efficient data monetization, which makes it an influential factor in reshaping the AI landscape and a current trend in the IT market.
Last week, Bulgaria’s Ontotext and Austria’s Semantic Web Company announced their merger to create Graphwise, a company developing graph-based AI.
Semantic Web Company specializes in knowledge management, semantic AI, and intelligent document processing, while Ontotext is recognized for its development of GraphDB, a flexible graph database, along with advanced AI models designed to connect and unify large volumes of information.
“Knowledge graphs are like GPS for AI and large language models (LLMs). They provide AI models with precision and context for data interpretation, ensuring more reliable and explainable results. Just as a GPS system offers accurate routes and prevents wrong turns, knowledge graphs guide AI models in the right direction by organizing and connecting data in a meaningful way. This is especially important now as businesses navigate the wide range of AI technologies,” explained Atanas Kiryakov, President of Graphwise.
Leveraging synergies to enhance operational efficiency
The main objective of the merger is combining Ontotext’s GraphDB capabilities for data connection and management with Semantic Web Company’s knowledge and content management platform, PoolParty.
According to their data, the new company’s current client base is around 200, including the World Bank, commercial banks in the US and Switzerland, Financial Times, BBC, NASA, AstraZeneca, and others.
The two companies will integrate their operations under the Graphwise brand while maintaining their separate legal entities. The amount of the deal remains undisclosed.
In 2022 and 2023, Integral, PortfoLion, and Carpathian Partners, together with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), acquired all shares in Ontotext from its previous owner, Sirma Group Holding, at a valuation of €30 million, with an additional €11 million invested in the business. This merger comes as a result of the additional investment.
“Everyone has AI models, but what they lack is model reliability”
With this new step, Ontotext will be able to further accelerate product development and expand its portfolio. The company representatives explained that this merger aims to set a clear path for advancing Graph RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) as a new technology category.
Graph RAG enables a deeper understanding of context and relationships between different entities, delivering more accurate and meaningful answers than AI methods that combine large language models (LLMs) with vector databases but don’t use graphs. By tapping into complex data connections, Graph RAG improves the quality of AI results, especially in fields where understanding context and data relationships is essential.
“Everyone has AI models, but what they lack is model reliability, which comes from integrated and enriched data. The unique combination of our expertise in knowledge graphs and semantic AI is the only way corporate models can process data with maximum accuracy, reliability, and context. Knowledge graphs are the next piece of the AI puzzle, and we’re excited to empower enterprises worldwide to achieve real results and return on their AI investments through a unified and proven platform,” shared Andreas Blumauer, Vice President of Growth at Graphwise.
