Jack Kokko grew up in Finland and worked as a technology M&A analyst at Morgan Stanley in Menlo Park, after telecom banking in London. He has described a constant fear of missing something critical in filings that no one could search.
He met Raj Neervannan at Wharton and the two built AlphaSense. Development took two to three years before a beta. Then the team gave the product to a few hedge funds for almost a year before charging. Kokko has said the first sales call was terrifying because he is not a salesperson.
AlphaSense launched in 2011. By December 2016 it had more than 500 clients. In 2024 it acquired Tegus.
Annual recurring revenue reached $500 million in October 2025 and passed $600 million in the first quarter of 2026. On 3 June 2026 AlphaSense raised $350 million at a $7.5 billion valuation.