Shark Tank's Herjavec Invests in AI Firm
Robert Herjavec, an investor on the television show *Shark Tank*, has made a strategic investment in Lovelytics, an AI-focused data and analytics consulting firm. As part of the deal, Herjavec will join the company's board of directors. Lovelytics is a market-leading services partner for the data platform Databricks.
- This investment builds on a pre-existing financial relationship, as Databricks Ventures made its first-ever investment in a consulting implementation partner in June 2023 by backing Lovelytics. - Lovelytics has received multiple accolades from Databricks, including the "Emerging Partner of the Year" award in June 2024 and two "Partner of the Year" awards in 2025 for its work in the enterprise and media sectors. - The company's work for a global streaming platform, which involved implementing real-time content personalization, led to a 30% decrease in operational costs and supported a 3-million viewer surge for a series finale. - Herjavec has publicly stated his investment thesis that the most significant long-term value in the AI sector is in the data infrastructure layer, rather than in consumer or vertical applications that can become commoditized. - This is Herjavec's second major investment in the AI data infrastructure space in recent years; in March 2025, he also invested in and took on a strategic role at data lakehouse firm Zetaris. - Before his recent focus on AI firms, Herjavec founded the cybersecurity company Herjavec Group in 2003 and grew it to $200 million in annual revenue before its majority acquisition by private equity firm Apax Partners in 2021. - The global market for Big Data Consulting services is projected to exceed $36 billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of nearly 14%, fueled by corporate adoption of AI and machine learning. - Founded in 2017 by CEO Scott Love, Lovelytics has also been expanding through its own acquisitions, including the purchase of Datalytics, a consultancy based in Latin America.
