Adobe acquires Indian market intelligence startup Rilo, its second India deal

Adobe has acquired Rilo, an Indian market intelligence startup, TechCrunch reported on September 2. The deal is Adobe's second acquisition in India, following its purchase of Rephrase.ai in 2023.

Few details about Rilo's products or the transaction's terms are public yet; the company is described as a market intelligence startup. Companies in this category typically help brands and retailers track demand shifts, competitive moves, and consumer signals to inform pricing, assortment, and marketing decisions.

For Adobe, the strategic appeal lies in bringing market intelligence closer to the software it sells to brands and retailers. Its experience and commerce products lean heavily on data, and outside market signals are the piece an internal analytics stack cannot see on its own.

India is familiar ground for Adobe. After buying Rephrase.ai in 2023, the company is again reaching into the country's startup ecosystem, a sign of sustained interest in local talent and technology.

The acquisition continues a broader pattern of software giants investing in data intelligence. Market intelligence data is becoming a critical asset as enterprises push AI to make sense of markets and consumers, and Adobe appears unwilling to miss that shift.

The open questions are where Rilo's team lands inside Adobe, which products gain market intelligence capabilities, and whether Adobe keeps adding Indian startups to its portfolio.