Hedge fund investors attempt to trade off that alternative data. Hundreds of data points are often generated from simple transactions and captured by the hundred of companies in the transaction supply chain.
There are more than 400 firms collecting so-called alternative data and selling it to hedge funds. Some data sets are more helpful than others. But overall, the use of alternative data is becoming more popular as fund managers look for ways to get an edge.
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/23/how-hedge-funds-use-alternative-data-to-make-investments.html