Intershop acquires the Netherlands-based SPARQUE.AI adding AI-powered personalization to its commerce platform

• Search algorithms from SPARQUE.AI predict what buyers want and personalize search results, product recommendations, navigation, and more.
• Using this technology, online stores increase conversions by 20% resulting in a 29% increase in revenue.
• This SaaS solution is ready today for all current Intershop customers, or users of other e-commerce platforms, and can be live within one week.

Jena, Germany, March 17, 2022 – Intershop Communications AG (ISIN: DE000A254211), a leading, independent provider of innovative solutions for B2B commerce, announces the acquisition of SPARQUE.AI, a technology thought leader in personalized search and AI-based product recommendations for both B2C and B2B commerce scenarios. Intershop will acquire 80% of the shares in the underlying organization SPARQUE B.V., while the remaining 20% will be retained by the incumbent management team who will join Intershop's extended management team. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price of the transaction.

Markus Klahn, CEO of Intershop: “SPARQUE.AI is an ideal addition to our continuously optimized high-performance B2B commerce platform. We have already deployed SPARQUE.AI's technology very successfully with existing Intershop customers leading to an increased website conversion rate of a remarkable 20%. This AI-optimized user experience then typically results in a 29% increase in sales.”

Based in Utrecht, the Netherlands, SPARQUE B.V. was founded in 2016 by Chi Shing Chang. The AI-based search and recommendation technology is based on software from Spinque B.V., also based in the Netherlands, which in turn emerged from the Dutch National Research Institute for Mathematics and Informatics (CWI) in Amsterdam.

Intershop has secured the rights of Spinque B.V. to use its technology for e-commerce and, by acquiring SPARQUE B.V., has brought the specialist e-commerce team on board to the profitably growing Intershop team. Current SPARQUE.AI customers include well-known wholesalers, and Intershop customers like MS Schippers, Isero, Wiltec, and Starxx.

“SPARQUE.AI's AI package is customized for us and scalable for future use cases. We don't just respond to customer needs, we anticipate them.” (Head of Business Development at a wholesaler of hardware and materials)

The SPARQUE.AI solution is particularly impressive in terms of speed and scalability. The AI-powered algorithms are ready for use within one week of configuration and are fed by a variety of data sources such as ERP, e-commerce, PIM, as well as a customer’s browsing history or real-time data such as the weather or current location.

Intershop will natively integrate the SaaS solution into its own cloud-based e-commerce platform, while SPARQUE.AI will continue operating independently. This will allow SPARQUE.AI to continue offering the solution to companies that rely on other commerce platforms thereby creating a new revenue stream for Intershop, which can then combine years of e-commerce experience with the latest AI technology.

Learn more about it on our dedicated website: Search and Recommendations