Summa Equity acquires Swiss FinTech NetGuardians

By Gloria Methri

Summa Equity, a Stockholm-based private equity firm, has acquired NetGuardians, a specialist in AI-driven fraud prevention and anti-money laundering (AML) solutions. The move opens an opportunity for a collaboration between NetGuardians and Intix, another Summa portfolio company specialising in Know Your Transaction (KYT) data management.

NetGuardians, a Swiss-based FinTech is recognised for its pioneering approach, underpinned by its proprietary 3D AI technology. This technology combines unsupervised, supervised and active learning with community scoring intelligence to create a flawless financial crime prevention system.

By analysing user behaviour and identifying unusual payment transactions in real time, NetGuardians’ solutions reduce false positives and ensure legitimate transactions are processed smoothly.

Alongside this, Intix, which was acquired by Summa in 2022, continues to lead the field of transaction data management. The company’s platform offers real-time access to payment and transaction data. It has become a cornerstone for the KYT concept, helping clients navigate the growing complexities of financial data management and analysis.

The synergy between NetGuardians’ fraud detection technology and Intix’s advanced financial data management platform is expected to change the financial crime prevention industry. Intix’s expertise in financial data management will amplify NetGuardians’ technology, introducing plug-and-play AI analytics built on a standardised data foundation.

Speaking on the new group, Gisle Glück Evensen, Partner at Summa said, “Money laundering and fraud pose significant challenges to the financial system and society through the harmful activities they support. The combination of Intix and NetGuardians represents the next generation of tools in the effort to combat these. We are very enthusiastic about the continuation of this journey.”

Speaking on the new group, Joël Winteregg, NetGuardians CEO and future group CEO, said, “Today marks a transformative moment for Intix and NetGuardians. This strategic union provides a unique approach to addressing financial crime challenges, tackling issues from data pipeline and traceability to advanced AI analytics. We are not just expanding our reach but also deepening our commitment to secure, sustainable financial practices”.

Commenting on NetGuardians’ future direction, its Co-founder and CSO Raffael Maio stated, “The opportunity to combine NetGuardians’ expertise and technology with Intix’s data management platform intelligence in creating the next generation of financial crime solutions promises to revolutionize how financial institutions combat illicit activities and connect to society: safeguard businesses and people’s savings, investments, and livelihoods.”