BlackRock takes minority stake in sustainability analytics company Clarity AI

BlackRock Inc. has made a minority investment in Clarity AI Inc. in the latest push to flesh out its Aladdin platform's sustainability data.

Using big data and machine learning capabilities, Clarity AI provides environmental and social impact analyses on more than 30,000 companies around the world to clients that include corporations, countries and local governments. BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, plans to integrate Clarity AI's capabilities into Aladdin, the company said in a Jan. 14 announcement.

Terms of the investment were not disclosed.

"As BlackRock makes sustainability its standard for investing, we are committed to raising the standards for ESG data and technology," Mary-Catherine Lader, BlackRock's head of Aladdin sustainability, said in a statement. "We're investing in new analytics and software in Aladdin and are also integrating capabilities from strategic partners like Clarity AI so clients can understand their investments' social and environmental impact and risks."

Clarity AI's addition to Aladdin will come as the latest move from BlackRock to round out its technology platform's sustainability offerings. BlackRock recently rolled out Aladdin Climate, a software application designed to provide investors with a better understanding of corporate and economic climate risks.

Aladdin has become a central business for BlackRock in recent years. Its technology services revenues climbed in the fourth quarter of 2020 to $305 million from $274 million a year earlier, BlackRock reported Jan. 14.

"Today, our technology is a $1.1 billion revenue business as more clients than ever before are looking for a unified technology platform like Aladdin that can support their whole portfolio across both public and private assets," BlackRock Chairman and CEO Larry Fink said on an earnings call. "As sustainability becomes a critical building block in all portfolios, our ambition is to put Aladdin at the center of sustainable investing and address the challenges that investors are facing and in the future."