Neville Lahiru
Digital consulting agency Surge Global has acquired data analytics company Trabeya for an undisclosed amount. Surge Global Founder and Head of Growth Bhanuka Harischandra publicly announced the acquisition, stating that its 40+ team of data scientists and engineers will come under Surge.
Accordingly, the Trabeya acquisition will allow Surge to expand its capabilities in data science, machine learning, Business Intelligence, and Robotic Process Automation. Speaking to ReadMe, Bhanuka mentions Trabeya’s Yasiru Ratnayake will come on board as Surge’s new Chief Data Officer to head the company’s AI/ML operations.
Incidentally, Trabeya marks the second acquisition for Surge. In early 2022, the firm announced that its bought software development company Paladin Analytics as a means of tapping into product development. Then in April of the same year, Surge started working on the Trabeya deal.
Headquartered in Singapore and with an operational team in Sri Lanka, Trabeya specializes in data analytics and Artificial Intelligence. Prior to the Surge acquisition, the company had already merged with Pyxle International, a Sri Lankan-based digital consultancy firm, and continued to operate under Tavistock Group’s portfolio of companies two years ago.
Growing ambitions
Surge itself has shown an uptick in growth in recent years. According to the company, Surge had a 30-member team by the end of 2020. Fast forward to the end of 2022, Surge now hosts over 400 employees, thanks in part to the acquisitions.
Bhanuka also attributes Surge’s growth to its operational structure and focus on employee satisfaction, citing the firm’s low employee turnover. “Our churn is usually around 3-4% when the industry rate is around 20%,” claims the founder. Following the Trabeya acquisition, Surge Global states it’s doubling down on capacity-building efforts such as adding Data Analytics as part of the current internship program.
Bhanuka also mentions that Surge will continue to look at two avenues as its primary growth strategy. The first is to push for more tech products and solutions via its product innovation team. The other is to focus on more acquisition opportunities both in and out of Sri Lanka. As Bhanuka puts it, the idea is to explore new areas for Surge in the form of companies that services a niche in the industry.
Of course, Surge Global isn’t alone in its ambitious outlook. The tech industry has been experiencing significant growth over the past few years. For instance, in late 2019, Singapore eCommerce startup Zilingo acquired nCinga for USD 15.5 million. In the same year, Daraz bought wow.lk. Then in 2021, hSenid went public with an LKR 692 million IPO, the first tech firm to be listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange.
An idealistic future
Even in 2022, the trend continued with the likes of WSO2 closing a USD 93 million funding. Though, that’s not to say #EconomicCrisisLK hasn’t impacted Sri Lanka’s dollar-earning IT sector.
But where does Surge Global see its idealistic future as a Sri Lankan-based tech company? For Bhanuka that’s a long-tail IPO for Surge “anywhere between USD 50-100 million,” he jokingly (but not really) added. “The long-term opportunities already exist for us to get there,” he further mentioned. Nevertheless, time will tell if Surge’s optimism will pay off, particularly considering the present tech landscape in the country.
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