Mastercard reveals acquisition of AI-based risk firm RiskRecon
Mastercard completed some late Christmas shopping in December 2019, announcing that it would be acquiring artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics risk management firm RiskRecon.
Kelly White, CEO and co-founder of RiskRecon
RiskRecon, based in Salt Lake City, Utah, was founded in 2015 and offers risk management solutions to the finance, energy, healthcare, insurance, and defence sectors.
It has completed three funding rounds worth a combined $40 million so far. The latest of those came in August 2018, where it nabbed $25 million from investors including F-Prime Capital, General Catalyst, Dell Technologies Capital and Accel.
Ajay Bhalla, president of cyber and intelligence for Mastercard, says that the acquisition will further accelerate the payments giant’s suite of cyber solutions.
He adds: “Through a powerful combination of AI and data-driven advanced technology, RiskRecon offers an exciting opportunity to complement our existing strategy and technology to secure the cyber space.”
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Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The transaction, which is anticipated to close in the first quarter of 2020, is subject to customary closing conditions.
For Kelly White, chief executive officer and co-founder of RiskRecon, Mastercard is “one of those brands that has stood out as a true innovator”. She adds that RiskRecon sees an opportunity for growth and increased reach following the completion of the acquisition.
“By becoming part of [the Mastercard] team, we have an opportunity to scale our solution and help companies in new industries and geographies take steps to better manage their cybersecurity risk,” he adds.
Mastercard made a number of acquisitions in 2019, including customer loyalty platform SessionM, software-as-a-service billing firm Transactis, and retail payments company Vyze.
