Davorin Cetto and Tomislav Domanovac
The original article – Bloomberg Adria
- Syntio Begins a New Growth Phase through Merger with UK-based Datatonic
- Companies to Form the Datatonic Group
- Plans Include New Hiring and Business Expansion
International patenting, growing operations, and now a successful merger with a foreign company – all of this can be added to the list of achievements of Syntio over its eight-year journey. The Croatian IT company, specializing in cloud-based data engineering, is entering a new phase of growth and expansion through its merger with the UK-based Datatonic. Together, the companies aim to become global leaders in their field.
Datatonic is a London-based company and a leading partner in machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), generative AI (GenAI), and agentic AI systems. According to Syntio, the merger comes at an ideal time, as the AI and data engineering sectors are rapidly evolving, presenting an exciting opportunity for both sides.
The newly formed Datatonic Group will retain both Syntio founders, Davorin Cetto and Tomislav Domanovac, who will remain active in the combined company’s leadership. In an interview with Bloomberg Adria, they shared more about the merger and future development plans.
Significance of the Merger
Even before the merger, the two companies collaborated and got familiar with each other’s work. Syntio and Datatonic founders first met in 2020 and recognized a strong synergy between their teams and expertise, which sparked early conversations about joint projects.
Datatonic and Syntio team
“Although the pandemic slowed down our plans, the accelerated development of the ML and AI markets further emphasized the need for collaboration. We decided to formalize our partnership to provide stronger and more comprehensive solutions for our clients,” said Domanovac and Cetto.
They believe the merger’s most significant advantage lies in combining the companies’ specialized services. But what does this mean for their clients?
“For them, it means an expanded offering of end-to-end solutions – from data collection and preparation to model development and deployment into business systems. All changes arising from this merger will be positive, aimed at adding more value to clients and end users. Our services will become even more complementary and streamlined, as we can now offer the entire data lifecycle under one roof – a unique advantage,” they explained.
Global Ambitions
Expanded geographic reach is another significant benefit. Although Syntio has already conducted over 80% of its business abroad, this merger enhances its global reach. The company has previously focused on the Scandinavian and Northern European markets, targeting large and medium-sized international enterprises undergoing digital transformation.
Syntio’s journey began in 2017 with a vision to use technology to create innovative solutions, helping businesses extract real-time value from their data. The founders identified a gap – and a corresponding opportunity – to start a company that could offer comprehensive digital transformation services from a single source.
Davorin Cetto
Now, with new partners, their shared ambition is to become the world’s leading Google partner for GenAI and agentic AI. Syntio will contribute its data engineering and infrastructure expertise to help the Datatonic Group deliver fully integrated, end-to-end solutions – from data collection and processing to AI system deployment – for clients across Europe and North America.
New Hiring and Career Opportunities
The companies have significant hiring plans. They aim to recruit at least 20 new employees this year, with further expansion expected in the next.
“At the same time, we’re heavily investing in developing our existing team members, offering them new career development and advancement opportunities in data engineering, ML, and AI,” said Domanovac and Cetto.
The Role of Artificial Intelligence
The emphasis on AI, in terms of employee development and business growth, is no coincidence. Domanovac and Cetto stress that embracing AI is essential for all companies. The most significant opportunities lie in preparing high-quality data for agentic AI systems, ensuring data consistency and reliability.
“While there’s currently a lot of hype around AI, we’re witnessing a fundamental transformation, not just a passing trend. Companies must adapt technologically and in how they manage their data systems. Integrating high-quality data into AI processes is becoming a key prerequisite for maintaining competitiveness,” they noted.
Continued Business Growth
Syntio is among the rare companies that can boast being recognized as one of the fastest-growing companies three years in a row. According to the Financial Times, Syntio was listed in 2022, 2023, and 2024. Last year, it ranked 953rd with an average growth rate of 38.4%.
Syntio’s team
According to Domanovac and Cetto, 2024 was marked by stability and a focus on optimizing existing services and technology solutions, while continuing to invest in innovation and digital transformation.
“A particular focus was on strengthening strategic partnerships, ultimately leading to the merger with Datatonic. While consolidated figures for the group have not yet been officially released, we’re proud of the foundation we’ve built for future growth. Despite market challenges, by opening new offices in emerging markets, we’ve already achieved results in Q1 2025 that surpass our successes from the previous two years,” they said.
Since Datatonic also recorded growth in the first quarter of this year, the companies expect strong growth throughout 2025, driven by the groundwork laid in the previous year.
