In today’s digital economy and the meteoric rise of artificial intelligence, data really is becoming the new oil. Now more than ever, reliable and accurate data sources are becoming increasingly essential to powering advanced technologies and innovation. Without access to quality data, the AI boom would simply not be possible nor at its current levels of capability.
While AI semiconductor companies like Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) and Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ: SMCI) have captivated headlines with their sky-rocketing stock prices, there are many other opportunities out there to capitalize on the demand for data and AI.
Alarum Technologies, Ltd. (NASDAQ: ALAR) is one such company that has seen its growth explode higher, thanks to its data collection technologies that offer a wide range of applications even beyond AI. The company’s recent fourth quarter and full-year 2024 financial results detail just how well the company is doing. However, before we jump into the financials, let’s break down the company’s NetNut subsidiary and capabilities.
What is NetNut and How Does the Service Help Companies Collect Data Across the Internet?
Alarum operates as a global provider of internet access and data collection solutions, which are offered through its NetNut subsidiary. NetNut powers the company’s data collection business through its high-speed global and secured hybrid proxy network, which allows its customers to collect data anonymously across the internet at any scale. The network is comprised of thousands of servers located around the world and provides its customer base with guaranteed privacy, as well as quality and stability at incredible speed. Furthermore, NetNut’s customer base features many impressive corporate clients, such as Lenovo, RocketReach, Joom, PriceLabs, and many more.
During the first two months of 2024, NetNut has already introduced two new product lines, the Website Unblocker, and an AI data collector product line. This comes as NetNut launched its first data collection product, the SERP API, in October 2023.
Using NetNut’s network, businesses can effectively gather real-time data and other vital sources to ensure a competitive edge. In today’s world of constantly changing market trends and consumer behaviors, businesses need to ensure they keep up every step of the way or risk falling behind competitors.
The potential use cases of NetNut’s network are bountiful. Using this network, businesses can conduct tasks like price comparison, market research, brand protection, threat intelligence, monitoring reviews, verifying ads, monitoring website changes, and many more. For a deeper dive into NetNut’s network use cases, please visit https://netnut.io/proxy-use-cases/.
How NetNut Can Support the AI Boom
In the context of artificial intelligence, NetNut’s service could be a welcomed solution to data source concerns faced by popular AI programs like ChatGPT. As the growth of ChatGPT continues to soar, many organizations and activists have begun raising concerns over how AI programs collect and source their data. With more and more companies looking for ways to block these AI programs from gaining access to their website and data, OpenAI’s ChatGPT and others will need to find solutions to ensure the continued collection of reliable data. After all, without data, the AI boom cannot survive and continue to innovate.
It is important to note that public data collection on the internet is legal, as long as the information is publicly available. Various U.S. court cases, such as Meta v. Bright Data, hiO Labs v. LinkedIn, and Van Buren v. United States, have all upheld the right to scrape publicly displayed data across the web.
This is exactly where Alarum and NetNut come into the picture. Using NetNut’s network, AI programs will still be able to effectively gather their required data at any scale. Whether it’s an early startup or a more established brand, like ChatGPT, consuming massive amounts of data, NetNut’s network provides a solution to this emerging hurdle facing the burgeoning AI boom.
Alarum’s NetNut Revenues Soar 150% in 2023 and Contributed to Record Net Profit During Q4 2023
The data collection solutions company reported its fourth quarter 2023 and full-year 2023 financial results on March 14, 2023. For the three months ended December 31, 2023, Alarum reported record revenues of $7.1 million compared to Q4 2022 sales of $5.1 million. Costs saw a decrease across the board (cost of revenue, R&D, sales & marketing, and general & administrative) thanks to the company’s shift away from CyberKick and its consumer-focused internet access businesses. As a result, Alarum reported a record net profit of $1.7 million during the quarter. Adjusted EBITDA also expanded to $2.2 million from $2 million last year.
“I am proud to share the most successful quarter in the Company’s history, as revenue, net profit, and Adjusted EBITDA, all meaningfully exceeded results from the previous quarter. We delivered efficient operational execution following our decision, in the second quarter of 2023, to scale down other activities and focus on NetNut’s operations,” said Shachar Daniel, Alarum’s Chief Executive Officer.
For the full year 2023, Alarum reported total revenues of $26.5 million compared to $18.6 million for the 2022 year. NetNut alone contributed $21.3 million to overall revenue, which represented an impressive 150% year-over-year growth compared to its 2022 revenue of $8.5 million. Cost of revenue, R&D, sales & marketing, as well as general & administrative costs all saw a decrease compared to 2022. The company did report a goodwill and intangibles impairment loss of $8.8 million. However, this was due to the scale-down of CyberKick and its cash-generating unit. Overall, the company reported an adjusted EBITDA of $5.2 million for the full year 2023 compared to an adjusted EBITDA loss of $8.5 million for 2022.
Overall, the results are very impressive, particularly Alarum’s Q4 results, which represent a full quarter of its NetNut-centralized strategy. The quarter demonstrated that NetNut’s growth is absolutely impressive and worth the full focus and attention of the company. The full-year results were also very good and showed a very clear improvement on the top and bottom lines compared to 2022. These results should give investors a lot of excitement and anticipation for the quarters and full year 2024 ahead. Mr. Daniel has already provided some hints that 2024 has started on a strong note in a quote from the financial results PR, as well as the earnings call.
“We began 2024 on a high note, by setting new monthly revenue records,” Mr. Daniel added. “Looking ahead, our strategy for 2024 involves expanding our cutting-edge product line, with a special emphasis on our advanced AI data collector series. The AI and data collection sectors complement each other significantly; AI platforms must have access to large volumes of data. Furthermore, we aim to grow our presence in the IP proxy network (IPPN) sector by entering new markets, enhancing our network infrastructure, and partnering with more top-tier customers globally.”
Conclusion
In conclusion, Alarum sits in an excellent position to continue benefitting from the global demand for reliable and accurate data collection. With so many different use cases and applications, NetNut’s service appears to have plenty more growth left in the tank. This becomes especially true when considering the current challenges facing the artificial intelligence industry and its data collection methods. As more websites try to challenge AI programs’ abilities to collect data, NetNut serves right at that intersection.
Alarum’s recent financial results are very positive and provide a resounding approval of the company’s new business focus. With new data collection tools being released and the company’s wide range of potential sales opportunities, 2024 is shaping up to be another exciting year for Alarum Technologies.
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The post Alarum (NASDAQ: ALAR) Reports Blockbuster Q4 2023 and Full-Year 2023 Financial Results as NetNut Subsidiary Continues Impressive Growth appeared first on Spotlight Growth.
