For two years, EasyEquities clients have built more than 58,000 stock baskets using a tool that quietly came from an Australian startup called Telescope AI. Now EasyEquities and its JSE-listed parent, Purple Group, are buying that startup outright, in a deal worth up to US$10.75 million, roughly R176 million, signed on 10 July 2026 and announced three days later. The two buyers each take half of Telescope, together owning all of it.
What Purple is actually paying for
On paper, Telescope looks slight: its latest management accounts show a net asset value of about R5 million and a small after-tax loss over the six months to end-February 2026. The value sits elsewhere. Telescope's tools reach more than three million end users across seven jurisdictions and 13 languages, and its compliance layer, Guardrails, has run more than 2.5 million checks across global markets. The technology powers platforms including IG Group, CMC Markets and Sharesies, and EasyEquities was its first enterprise partner, launching the AI Baskets tool back in 2024. Purple is buying the technology, the team and that enterprise client base rather than the balance sheet, and it gains a new business-to-business revenue stream through Telescope's global partnerships.
The people and the price
Purple pays US$7 million at closing, US$5 million in cash and US$2 million through 19.09 million new shares, with up to US$3.75 million more tied to time and performance over five years. Founder Luc Pettett, an ex-Microsoft engineer who built and sold horseracing site Punters.com.au, joins Purple Group as chief AI officer and stays on to run Telescope for at least five years. Pettett calls the tie-up a natural fit that gives partners and their end users better AI, with rapid deployment across millions of investors feeding back into what the team builds. Chief executive Charles Savage frames the logic around faster products, better customer experiences and new lines built on the group's combined data and distribution. Purple already serves 1.3 million active clients with R100 billion on its platform, and its latest results showed revenue up 8.8% to R258.5 million and profit before tax up a third.
For clients, Purple says that should translate over time into multi-language experiences, personalised insights and more affordable financial guidance. The deal is a category 2 transaction, so shareholders get no vote, though it still needs Reserve Bank exchange-control approval before closing, with a long-stop date 90 days from signature. The real test is whether owning the engine outright lets Purple sell it to the world faster than renting it ever did.
