CI&T Acquires of Comrade, Strengthening Product Development

Brazil’s digital services firm CI&T has acquired Comrade, a strategy and customer experience design agency based in Silicon Valley.

The acquisition widens CI&T’s US footprint, and, above all, bolsters its digital transformation service offerings by injecting strategy and design know-how. Oakland, Calif-based Comrade claims that its clients include two of the top five American banks, the world’s largest asset manager, and over 30 fintech firms, among others.

“Comrade’s deep ties with Silicon Valley are an important factor for enterprises seeking digital transformation,” said Bruno Guicardi, President and Co-founder, CI&T, adding that Comrade’s expertise and experience in working with financial services sector would go a long way in boosting the fortunes of his firm.

All 50 employees of Comrade will join CI&T, which already boasts over 2,500 strategists, designers and developers on five continents.

Some analysts say Comrade will also improve CI&T’s product developmental in new technologies, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, analytics, cloud, and mobility.

Many of Comrade’s clients are said to be counting on emerging technologies to cling onto their market share amid growing competition. By gaining access to CI&T’s larger trove of technological resources, Comrade hopes it can better serve those clients.

Comrade’s regular competitors include the likes of IDEO and Accenture Fjord.

“Their focus on data-led strategy combined with human-centered design and hands-on pragmatism perfectly integrates with our lean way of working and allows us to offer the most complete end-to-end customer experiences possible,” Guicardi added.

The Brazilian firm reported R$400 million (approximately US$127 million) in annual revenue last year, an increase of 18% compared to the previous year, according to local Portuguese newspapers.