RWS Acquires Obviously Group Limited

RWS, a global AI solutions company, has acquired Obviously Group Limited (“Obviously”), a next generation integrated platform that enables enterprise clients to seamlessly manage, protect and enforce their Intellectual Property (“IP”) and brand integrity.

RWS will pay £16.5 million in initial cash consideration, with up to a further £23.5 million in deferred contingent consideration payable over three financial years subject to agreed profit targets, taking total potential consideration to £40 million.

Headquartered in London, Obviously has developed an integrated platform for enterprise legal, marketing and finance teams – helping them track brand assets and IP rights, identify threats such as counterfeits and copycats, protect brand integrity and quantify the commercial impact of infringement.

Combining Obviously’s technology with RWS’s patent and localization capabilities creates a single ‘Global Brand Guardianship’ platform – one place for enterprises to create, localize, register, monitor and enforce their brands and IP across every market they operate in. It is the first solution to bring the full brand lifecycle, from creation through to enforcement, into a single unified system.

Obviously’s enterprise client base spans media and entertainment, technology, financial services, pharmaceuticals and sport.

Also Read: AiThority Interview with Glenn Jocher, Founder & CEO, Ultralytics

Benjamin Faes, CEO of RWS, commented:

“The acquisition of Obviously is a significant step forward in accelerating our growth by pivoting to be a technology-first business with holistic solutions for enterprise clients.

“Obviously’s innovative integrated platform, which safeguards brands through IP & brand management, protection and enforcement intelligence, is a strong fit with both our existing patent-focused IP business and our localization capabilities.

“Together we can offer a single global brand guardianship solution to our existing clients and meaningfully expand our addressable market. We are delighted to welcome the Obviously team into the Group.”

Obviously will become part of RWS’s Protect segment – which helps clients safeguard their ideas globally with confidence by blending the latest technologies with the best of human expertise to optimize every stage of the IP lifecycle, from concept through to commercialization.

Lewis Whiting, CEO of Obviously, added:

“This is an important milestone in Obviously’s journey and a testament to the position we have built by working closely with some of the world’s most recognized brands. Joining RWS gives us the scale, global client reach and complementary IP and localization capabilities to deliver legal brand guardianship at a level we could not have reached alone. I look forward to bringing our AI-driven platform and team to RWS’s clients across the Protect and Transform segments.”