Welcome to twir — the weekly show delivering AI-powered summaries of market research news and insights. Each week, we scan and ingest media from top blogs, podcasts, articles, and reports, distilling the key trends shaping the industry. Best of all, twir episodes learn and get smarter over time, building a POV on an archive of past news and trends.
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Episode Summary: AI, Innovation, and Market Research Trends (December 5 – December 11, 2025)
AI and Tech Innovations in Market Research
- Outset Raises $30M Series B to Expand AI-Moderated Research Into CXM – Outset announced a $30M Series B (total funding $51M) led by Radical Ventures, with participation from M12 (Microsoft’s Venture Fund) plus existing backers Y Combinator, Adverb Ventures, and 8VC.The company says the round will extend its AI-moderated “depth-of-interview at survey-scale” approach beyond standalone studies and into an AI-native Customer Experience Management (CXM) platform—replacing static survey dashboards with continuous, contextual conversations that probe for root causes behind CX signals.
- Accenture Backs Consumer Simulation – AI startup Aaru raised a Series A at a valuation up to $1B. Aaru’s multi-agent “Lumen” model simulates consumer behavior in minutes, aiming to replace surveys. Accenture Ventures had earlier invested and is integrating Aaru’s tech into its product innovation offerings.
- “AI Insights Officer” on the Horizon – London’s Bolt Insight secured a £7M funding round to evolve beyond project-based research. Bolt is developing an “AI Chief Insights Officer,” a real-time decision partner that mines past research and launches AI-moderated studies on demand. The 50-person startup says eleven of the top 15 CPG firms have used its AI qual platform.
- Fathom Launches “Fathomer,” an Agentic Research Assistant for Open-Ended Data – Fathom introduced Fathomer, positioned as an agentic research assistant that turns coded open-ended data (plus raw verbatims, quant fields, segments, and sentiment) into an “always-on research engine” researchers can query for faster synthesis.In the announcement, Fathom emphasizes that its platform already accelerates thematic coding ~20x using a human+AI approach, and frames Fathomer as the “next layer” for day-to-day insight exploration and ongoing reuse of past datasets.
- Alchemer Boosts Text Analytics – Survey platform Alchemer upgraded its Pulse AI suite to transform open-ended feedback “from anywhere” into actionable insights. New features include “Observations” for deep-diving into themes, automatic executive summaries, and an ask-the-data conversational AI interface for instant answers. Alchemer (formerly SurveyGizmo) says the AI helps uncover the “why” behind customer comments securely and at scale.
- Accenture Invests in Hybrid Testing – Accenture took a strategic stake in WEVO, an AI-driven UX research platform that blends synthetic personas with real user feedback. WEVO’s technology predicts audience reactions to concepts before launch by combining human insights with AI simulation. Accenture will integrate WEVO’s capabilities into its GrowthOS toolkit, enabling clients to validate product ideas faster with AI-enhanced user testing.
B2B Market Research Developments
- Nielsen Segments on Amazon – Nielsen struck a deal with Amazon to make Nielsen Marketing Cloud audiences available in Amazon’s Ads ecosystem. Marketers can now target Nielsen’s proprietary segments (CPG, auto, finance, etc.) across Amazon’s channels (DSP, Prime Video, Twitch, Alexa, more) and measure performance seamlessly. Nielsen says this one-stop integration will boost ROI by combining rich audience data with Amazon’s reach.
- Alt Data for Investors – Finland-based Behavix partnered with US firm Maiden Century to infuse behavioral consumer data into investment analysis. Behavix’s opt-in digital behavior signals (web visits, app usage, etc.) will feed Maiden Century’s tools for hedge funds. The alternative data aims to help financiers better predict tech and consumer company performance by incorporating real-world consumer behavior trends.
- Infrastructure for TV Insights – UK TV ratings body Barb launched its new Data Hub to modernize video audience data delivery. The cloud-based system centralizes Barb’s panel and big data integrations, standardizes metrics, and will host a forthcoming Ads Hub for campaign analytics. Barb clients (broadcasters, advertisers) will gain faster access to viewing data and API tools, with Barb calling the Hub a “substantial overhaul” ensuring consistent, flexible access to trusted TV insight data.
Partnerships, Mergers, and Acquisitions
- IBM’s $11B Data Bet – IBM agreed to acquire streaming data platform Confluent for $11 billion in cash. Confluent’s real-time data pipeline (founded by the creators of Apache Kafka) will help IBM’s hybrid cloud clients feed AI and analytics with live streams. IBM CEO Arvind Krishna said the deal will let enterprises deploy generative and agentic AI “better and faster” by connecting data across environments in real time.
- Publicis Buys Lotame for Data – Ad giant Publicis Groupe is set to acquire audience data company Lotame, folding it into Publicis’ Epsilon unit for personalized marketing. Publicis will double its consumer reach to an estimated 4 billion profiles worldwide with Lotame’s identity graphs. CEO Arthur Sadoun noted “AI is nothing without data,” underscoring that the $1.5B spent on data/tech acquisitions is to power Publicis’ AI-driven targeted ad content.
- Ad Tech Consolidation – New York-based Cadent acquired YouTube ad optimization firm VuePlanner to boost its cross-screen ad forecasting platform. VuePlanner is one of a handful of YouTube Measurement Program partners and uses AI plus human curation to maximize YouTube campaign performance. Cadent will integrate VuePlanner’s team; co-founder John Cobb becomes GM of the new Cadent VuePlanner unit. Cadent says the buy lets advertisers plan YouTube alongside linear TV and streaming for a true “Total Video” strategy.
- Data Union in Creative Testing – UK startup DAIVID teamed with CreativeX and others (including Kantar’s Link AI and attention analytics firms) to launch Datalink, a collaborative framework for creative effectiveness data. The partnership connects metrics like attention, emotion, brand recall, and content quality into one dashboard. By unifying these siloed data streams, the group aims to give brands a real-time “backbone” for creative decision-making in the AI era.
Industry Leadership & Organizational Changes
- Tobii Names New CEO – Swedish eye-tracking leader Tobii appointed Fadi Pharaon as CEO effective Jan 1. Pharaon is a 25-year Ericsson veteran who held senior roles in mobile tech, bringing global tech and sales experience. He succeeds Anand Srivatsa, who led a major refocus (including a 2023 automotive tech acquisition) and will depart after a transition. Tobii’s board said Pharaon’s vision aligned with its long-term strategy for the “attention computing” pioneer.
- Ipsos CFO Departs – Paris-based research giant Ipsos announced CFO Dan Lévy will step down to pursue new opportunities. 21-year Ipsos veteran Olivier Champourlier, currently Head of Group Controlling, will serve as interim CFO. Lévy joined Ipsos in 2022 from banking, replacing a 24-year predecessor. Ipsos thanked Lévy for his contributions as it commences a search for a permanent finance chief.
- Cint Hires Data Chief – Programmatic research platform Cint hired Phil Ahad as Managing Director of a new Data unit. Ahad, a former Toluna and PureSpectrum executive, will unify Cint’s vast respondent network data with AI to offer “deeper profiling and digital twin” solutions. CEO Patrick Comer said Ahad’s innovative approach will expand how Cint delivers data to clients beyond traditional panels. The new unit is already exploring synthetic data tools and an AI companion (“Luci”) launched in beta earlier this year.
- Asia Insight Leader – Hong Kong agency Cimigo appointed Clare Lui as Executive Director. Lui brings 25+ years on both client and supplier sides, most recently as Partner at Intuit Research, and previously VP at Nielsen Media. In her new role, she’ll help expand Cimigo’s offerings in passive measurement and tech-driven insights for APAC clients. Cimigo’s Chris Farquhar said Lui’s grasp of research technology and marketplace dynamics will spur the firm’s next chapter of growth.
Expert Insights & Thought Leadership
- AI Ethics Under the Microscope – At the Insights Association’s recent Ignite AI forum, industry leaders urged a shift from “AI hype” to responsible AI adoption. Experts emphasized frameworks for human-guided AI, where technology augments (not replaces) researchers’ judgment. A key takeaway was that building trust and governance around AI – from bias checks to team training – is vital to ensure AI truly serves people and yields impactful insights, rather than just speed for its own sake.