A group of web data companies including Oxylabs has launched under the Source brand, seeking to capitalise on surging demand for the infrastructure used to power artificial intelligence agents and next-generation search products.

The group brings together Oxylabs, Decodo, Webshare, Honeygain and ScrapingBee, following a funding round led by private equity firm Warburg Pincus earlier this year that valued the business at $3.6bn.

Source said demand across its constituent businesses had quadrupled over the past 12 months, driven by the growing need for AI systems to access and process publicly available information from the internet.

The launch reflects the expanding market for data infrastructure as businesses move beyond AI chatbots towards autonomous agents capable of searching for information, monitoring markets and carrying out more complex tasks.

Source's companies provide tools for collecting and accessing public web data, supporting applications ranging from financial market intelligence and cybersecurity to online fraud detection and AI-powered research.

The group originated with Oxylabs more than a decade ago and has since expanded through acquisitions, investment and product development. Its five brands will continue operating independently under the new umbrella organisation.

Vytautas Savickas, Source's chief executive, said reliable access to web data was becoming increasingly important as companies deployed more sophisticated AI systems.

“The modern world runs on data, and autonomous agents are now speeding up innovation across every sector,” he said.

“For these systems to work, responsible access to public web data is no longer just a technical tool. It is the core infrastructure for the next wave of progress.”

Source employs about 800 people across Europe, the US and Asia, including more than 350 developers and engineers. The group said its businesses had collectively generated more than 180 patents and registered 215 trademarks.

The company plans to use its combined scale to increase research and development spending and pursue further strategic expansion.

The market for web intelligence is attracting growing attention as AI developers seek access to current information beyond the material used to train their models.

However, the expansion of automated web data collection also raises questions about intellectual property, website access restrictions and the terms under which information can be gathered and reused.

Savickas said the new structure would provide a stronger platform for investment while giving the businesses a unified voice in discussions about access to public web information.

“Source gives a clear identity to an ecosystem that has grown well beyond a single company story,” he said.