Real-time information is the hottest thing in the market nowadays.  It can make or break you, especially if you use real-time data for business purposes.  So where do people get their real-time info?  Believe it or not, Twitter.  Yes, we already know Twitter is a hot commodity, and there are plenty of startups that recognize the power of its real-time information streams (Google not included).  DataSift is one such startup, being an early curator of the Twitter firehose.  Now DataSift has received some investment of its own – a round of funding from IA Ventures and GRP Partners.

We’re co-leading the $6 million investment with Roger Ehrenberg at IA Ventures in NY and one of the most respected early-stage investors in the country in “big data” companies. As a former hedge fund guy, Roger immediately saw the value in helping companies better sift through the masses of data; often to gain better insights into financial information.

When Mark Suster was asked, “Why Twitter?” he listed several things why which made a lot of sense.

• Real-time – everyone wants to be up-to-date but it’s better that you know things before it hits the news
• Open – anyone can use it and anyone can see you
• Asymmetric – you don’t have to follow everyone who follows you
• Social – it lets people know a little more about you with the things you follow or talk about
• Viral – once it’s Tweeted, specifically the juicy one, it spreads like wildfire
• Location Aware – statistics and trending topics in specific locations
• Referral Network – by adding link backs to your Tweets, it’s easier to refer something
• Explicit – Whatever you Tweet tells something about you
• Implicit – The things you follow or don’t follow can be used to also get to know you better

This investment could very well be the start of an acquisition.  Twitter’s been on a tear lately, incorporating the apps and services that helped make its own product great.  Now that Twitter’s got its thumb on mobile, the web and the desktop, it’s going to need to layer in additional services to make better use of all the information its millions upon millions of users gorge on every day.

It’s only speculation, so for the time being, DataSift will need to keep its head down and focus on providing value around the social web.

The bet that DataSift’s investors are making is that Twitter won’t enter this data syndication market itself and take it away like it did with Twitter clients. DataSift has a long-term contract with Twitter, but that doesn’t guarantee Twitter won’t replicate any services it sees to be especially profitable. On the other hand, if DataSift makes this work, it could become an acquisition target for Twitter.

Investments are critical for any company.  This could gain more patrons or worst-case-scenario, lose everyone.  But whatever the outcome of this investment will be, you can be sure that you’ll hear about it first on Twitter.