A Newcastle tech firm is set to scale up rapidly after the investment arm of the American technology organisation Nasdaq invested in the fast-growing business.
Caspian, which is based at The Core in Newcastle, is an anti money laundering firm which has developed automated investigation technology that uses machine learning as well as human expertise to help global banks fight financial crime.
Now the firm, which has 35 people at its Tyneside base, is set to create another 15 jobs by the end of this year, on top of the six it is currently advertising, after Nasdaq Ventures, the investment arm of electronic exchange Nasdaq, snapped up a minority stake.
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The value of the deal has not been disclosed, but according to Nasdaq Ventures website, the firm’s typical investments are between $2m to $5m.
The firm said the investment will see Caspian ramp up expansion and scale of its platform, AML Investigator, which it said is a world first and used in global tier 1 banks to fight the serious problem of financial crime and money laundering.
Looking ahead, Caspian directors said the business will scale rapidly and will likely require further investment in the team.
CEO Chris Brannigan said: “Caspian’s proven solution solves a huge pain point in the industry, dramatically increasing analyst productivity and resulting in meaningful cost-savings for bank compliance teams.
“Our machine learning technology is validated through production use at global financial institutions, making risk decisions that are fully explainable and regulator friendly.
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“Through the investment and partnership with Nasdaq we are excited to expand our offering at a global scale.”
Nasdaq Ventures said the two companies will also look for opportunities to combine their research and development to further combat financial crime in the global financial services industry.
Gary Offner, head of Nasdaq Ventures, said: “Investing in technology disruptors like Caspian that align with our business interests in improving the transparency of markets everywhere is one of the core objectives for our venture efforts.
“One feature that is critical to the health and integrity of the financial industry is detecting, mitigating and managing fraudulent and criminal behavior.
“Caspian has been at the forefront of this process through its forward-thinking technology leadership and we believe their offering greatly improves the regtech ecosystem for banks and regulators, and ultimately the consumer.
“We are excited to align our investment interests with our business mission to jointly strengthen the fight against financial crime through our collaboration with Caspian.”