Boston tech entrepreneur Dave Balter has sold his company Flipside Crypto to the consulting and audit giant Deloitte.
Flipside, founded more than eight years ago to provide analysis of the then-fast-growing crypto and blockchain scene, had pivoted over the past year to focus more on AI. Balter, who was a Globe Tech Power Player in 2024, sold the original crypto analysis business to California-based SonarX in May.
Deloitte’s D71 Ventures unit acquired Flipside’s remaining AI effort, dubbed Edisyl, which helps businesses organize data used by AI apps to ensure they provide accurate information and summaries. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
While digital currencies and blockchain technology were all the rage five years ago, the crypto market has tailed off after suffering a series of scandals and hacking incidents. Meanwhile, AI has exploded as the most attractive startup sector, garnering the majority of venture capital invested in the past few years.
Edisyl will continue to operate inside of Deloitte and all 24 current employees will remain with the firm, Balter, Flipside’s former chief executive, said. His title shifts to cofounder of Edisyl after the acquisition.
“Edisyl makes sure every company’s data is accurate in whatever AI it uses,” Balter said. “Deloitte saw that value fast and made us an offer we couldn’t refuse.”
The idea came about as Balter, who has founded eight companies, said he saw more and more businesses deploying AI apps and agents that were accessing businesses’ internal data. Edisyl essentially curates the data, along with each company’s terms, definitions, and policies, to prevent AI apps from misstating or misusing the information.
Flipside had raised $67 million over its eight-plus years in business from venture capital and crypto investors, including Republic Capital in New York, True Ventures, Galaxy, Terra, Dapper Labs, M13, and Blockchain Coinvestors.
Aaron Pressman can be reached at aaron.pressman@globe.com. Follow him @ampressman.