Robotic process automation provider Automation Anywhere Inc. today announced that it’s acquiring FortressIQ Inc., an artificial intelligence startup backed by investors including Tiger Global and Microsoft Corp.’s M12 fund.

The deal’s financial terms were not disclosed. 

Robotic process automation, or RPA, software enables enterprises to automate repetitive work usually done manually by employees. Automation Anywhere’s RPA platform can learn the steps involved in carrying out a given business task. Then, the platform generates a software “bot” that can perform the task automatically. 

Automation Anywhere is one of the leading players in the RPA market. The company was valued at $6.8 billion after its most recent funding round and says its customers have built nearly 3 million automations to date.

FortressIQ focuses on simplifying a task known as process discovery that represents an important step of many RPA projects. The startup’s technology could help Automation Anywhere speed up RPA implementations for customers. 

Before an enterprise can deploy software bots in its operations, executives must determine what business workflows should be automated. This task is known as process discovery. In a large company, mapping out all the business workflows that could be automated with RPA software can potentially take months of work.

San Francisco-based FortressIQ has developed a platform that promises to reduce the amount of time necessary for process discovery initiatives by up to 90%. The result, the startup says, is that companies can map out opportunities to streamline business operations in weeks rather than months.

FortressIQ’s platform, dubbed the Virtual Process Analyst, uses AI to observe how workers interact with a company’s internal applications. The platform analyzes the data it collects to glean insights about organizations’ business processes. Those insights, FortressIQ says, can be used to identify tasks that could be completed more efficiently with the help of RPA bots. 

“The Fortress IQ team are the pioneers of process intelligence, making this a perfect match,” said Automation Anywhere co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Mihir Shukla (pictured). “Together, Automation Anywhere and FortressIQ will reshape the future of automation, changing the way our customers automate, adapt, and accelerate as they pursue digital transformation initiatives.”

Other players in the RPA market have also used acquisitions to expand their business process analytics capabilities. In 2019, UiPath Inc. acquired ProcessGold International BV. More recently, IBM Corp. this past April purchased Italy-based myInvenio Srl, whose software helps enterprises more easily identify automation opportunities.

Several startups are also competing in the market for tools that simplify the task of understanding business processes. One such startup, process mining specialist Celonis GmbH, closed a $1 billion funding round at an $11 billion valuation in June. 

Photo: SiliconANGLE