Alternative Data Weekly #251

Theme: Alternative Data Can Be A Disinfectant

Aug 15, 2025

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QUOTES

“We see gen AI driving two transformative shifts in data monetization. First, gen AI is unlocking unstructured data, making it possible for companies to clean, connect, and extract value from formats that were previously difficult to leverage. Second, gen AI is turning raw data into actionable insights embedded directly into workflows.” - Ben Ellencweig, Guilherme Cruz, Vishnu Kamalnath, & Miguel Frade of McKinsey Intelligence at scale: Data monetization in the age of gen AI

News
Pods
Charts
Final Thoughts (Too Much)

#1 - Stan Altschuller and Charles Poliacof published Software 3.0: From Spreadsheets to the Cloud, to Agentic AI. August 2025.

My Take: This is a thought-provoking article that breaks down how AI systems will change the way we work.
Systems of Record (e.g., CRM) will merge with Systems of Action (e.g., engaging with prospects, calls, emails, etc.). This convergence will lead to personalized answers from the system that are delivered into your workflow and drive the next best action. Your own, personal, intelligent agent will help you do your job better.
Full disclosure: Charles and I work together at ModuleQ.

#2 – AInvest published Moody's and S&P Global's Decade of Declining Performance: Time to Reassess Ratings Agencies. July 2025.

My Take: While this is an area ripe for disruption, the fact that these rating agencies still exist 17 years after the 2008 Financial Crisis is a demonstration of just how ingrained these organizations are in the financial system.
Can Alternative Data be the disinfectant?
Related notes:
- Mark Hulbert: CPI manipulation isn't an investor's biggest concern. Watch this economic indicator instead.
- Clyde Morgan: Political Interference in Economic Data: The Erosion of Trust and the Rise of Alternative Data Sources.

“The rise of alternative data sources and analytics tools has challenged the traditional dominance of Moody's and S&P Global. Investors are now more likely to consider a broader range of data and insights when making investment decisions.”

#3 – Nick Valiotto published Your Biz is Not Growing Because Your KPIs Confuse More Than They Clarify. July 2025.

My Take: I like this quote: “If it’s not showing you where to steer, it’s not a KPI. It’s a rearview mirror.” This reminds me of the recent series of posts from JaserBK about KPIs. Keep it simple. Understand what you are trying to accomplish and make sure you are asking the right question ( a recurring theme in recent weeks).

BONUS: Pedram Navid published The Cost of Costing Nothing. August 2025. “The cost of thinking has been offloaded to the consumer, not the producer.”

What else I am reading:

Dan Entrup’s Roll Up. August 2025.

Brad Schneider published AI Compliance Costs Are Creating Permanent Winners. August 2025.

The Terminalist Sink or Schwim - An LSEG saga. August 2025.

Seattle Data Guy published Anyone Else Struggling to Keep Up With Data Tools. July 2025.

Nick Valiotti published Why Most Dashboards Fail Before They're Built. August 2025.

Dave Wang mapped 81 AI companies disrupting Wall Street. August 2025.

Soren Larson published The Smart Squeeze. July 2025.

John Turner of XBRL published Beyond the Hype: How Structured Data Can Save AI Financial Analysis. June 2025.

Roland Moore-Colyer published The more advanced AI models get, the better they are at deceiving us — they even know when they're being tested. July 2025.

Join Blue Street Data’s webinar on August 19th at 2pm ET. Can Better Data Be Your AI Advantage?

Source: Adrien Nav of Ticker Trends published Will Alt Data Become Saturated In Financial Markets. July 2025.

My Take: What is the viability of Alternative Data long term? Basic types of Alternative Data are table stakes. Everyone knows what the basic credit card estimate panels are indicating to the market.
How you question the data is more important than having access to the data. With improved tools and business models, more people will have the ability to access & question this type of “alternative data” (see Carbon Arc & Facteus press release).
Interpretation of the data is where the power lies … not in simple access to the data.

Highlights (15-minute run time)

Minute 01:00 – What is the viability of Alternative Data long term?
Minute 06:30 – opportunity with an unstructured dataset where analysis of the same data can vary widely.
Minute 09:00 – multiple conclusions from the same data source.
Minute 10:00 – Victorie’s Secret fashion show example (as an investor, what do you do with the TikTok “data” from the Victoria's Secret show?)

BONUS: Thought this was fun: The Alternative Data Goldrush

Source: McKinsey published Intelligence at scale: Data monetization in the age of gen AI. July 2025.

Authors: Ben Ellencweig, Guilherme Cruz, and Vishnu Kamalnath with Miguel Frade

“The stakes have never been higher to generate value from data. Top-performing organizations attribute 11 percent of their revenue to data monetization—over five times more than their lower-performing peers.¹ Companies that want to extract more value from their data are already making the leap from creating static data products to launching AI-powered intelligence. And this shift delivers clear commercial upside.”