Insights and strategy firm Hypothesis joins Elixirr to further boost US adventure

UK-origin consultancy Elixirr has continued making inroads into the US market, with the acquisition of Hypothesis. The insights and strategy firm will add around 60 experts to Elixirr’s US headcount.

Law firm Dentons acted as legal counsel to Elixirr during the deal. BDO provided financial advisory services to Elixirr in the transaction, while M&A advisory firm JEGI CLARITY represented Hypothesis Group in this transaction. Sklar Kirsh also acted as legal counsel to Hypothesis.

Hypothesis CEO Maria Vallis commented, “The Hypothesis team is excited to join forces with the Elixirr Group as we’re now able to take our insights and recommendations further and can do more to solve our clients’ business issues. The combination of capabilities between Hypothesis and the Elixirr Group is really powerful and will enable us to deliver even more impact to our collective client base.”

In particular, Vallis noted Elixirr’s “strong expertise across different verticals”, including financial services, healthcare and insurance. This, alongside the ability to “add data, AI, digital and innovation capabilities” to Hypothesis’ skillset provides new opportunities for the combined firm to win contracts on either side of the Atlantic.

Hypothesis was founded in 2000 by Maria Stark and Jeff Seltzer. They launched the firm with the goal of disrupting the research and insights industry, similarly to Elixirr, which has branded itself as “the challenger consultancy” from its own inception 15 years ago.

Since 2016, the company has sought to take its disruptive mission to the US market – the largest national consulting market in the world – and has rapidly built out capacity with a string of acquisitions. Most recently, these have included 2023 deals for management consultancy Insigniam and AI platform Responsum, as well as a 2022 move for data and technology firm iOLAP.

The deal for Hypothesis adds 58 experts to Elixirr’s US wing – while Hypothesis’ CEO Vallis will now join Elixirr as a partner, based out of Los Angeles, California. The move will also give Elixirr access to an expanding base of blue-chip clients across North America. Among the firms Hypothesis has worked with are Meta, Netflix, Toyota, Google and ESPN.

Commenting on the news, Stephen Newton, CEO and founder of Elixirr, added, “We first met the Hypothesis team about 18 months ago, and the opportunity to join forces has consistently excited us ever since those very first discussions. With our challenger DNA and focus on high performance, both Elixirr and Hypothesis are premium brands that work with premium clients. The acquisition will further solidify the strong reputation we’ve been building and bring rigour to our research and insights offering… Maria and Hypothesis’ expertise will help us solidify the strong reputation we’ve been building in the US market, which remains a key priority for us.”

Looking ahead, a statement from the firm also noted that “Hypothesis’ expertise in insights and strategy” mean Elixirr is “now even better placed to deliver end-to-end solutions to existing and new clients – from the initial deep research and discovery through to defining the strategy and developing the technology required to deliver valuable impact.” However, the release also mentioned that Elixirr is not done with its expansion ambitions in America just yet – adding that it was “laser-focused on bringing new and valuable capabilities to Elixirr’s client base”, and that it would continue to “scale and build its reputation in new markets through strategic acquisitions”.