Swedish Private Equity Firm Acquires NetGuardians

Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Yverdon-les-Bains NetGuardians is an award-winning Swiss FinTech helping financial institutions in over 30 countries to fight financial crime. More than 100 banks and wealth managers, including 60% of all Swiss state-owned commercial banks and three of the top 10 private banks as ranked by Euromoney, rely on NetGuardians’ 3D artificial intelligence (3D AI) solution to prevent fraudulent payments and detect money laundering in real-time. This cutting-edge 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 significantly reduce false positives and ensure legitimate transactions are processed smoothly. Banks using NetGuardians’ software have achieved an 85% reduction in customer friction, enjoy more than 75% lower operating costs and have detected new fraud cases. Headquartered in Switzerland, NetGuardians has offices in Singapore, Poland, and Kenya.

Belgium-based 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 and has become a cornerstone for the Know Your Transaction (KYT) concept helping clients navigate the growing complexities of financial data management and analysis.

Intix’s expertise in financial data management will amplify NetGuardians’ cutting-edge technology, introducing plug-and-play AI analytics built on a standardized data foundation. In doing so, the new group will accelerate progress toward a shared goal of combating illicit financial flows, protecting individuals and businesses.

NetGuardian’s founders to shape the new group

Following the acquisition, Sergi Herrero, former Chair of Intix will assume the role of Chairman of the group. NetGuardians’ initial co-founders will play pivotal roles in this new venture and Raffael Maio will spearhead the group’s strategy. Joël Winteregg will serve as Group CEO. Both will be instrumental in shaping the development and strategic direction of the organization.

“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”, explained Gisle Glück Evensen, Partner at Summa.

Private equity firm with EUR 5 billion under management

Founded in 2016, Summa is an impact investor focusing on three thematic areas: Resource Efficiency, Changing Demographics, and Tech-Enabled Transformation. Summa has c. EUR 5 billion in assets under management and has made over 30 platform investments across the three funds raised to date.

“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”, said Joël Winteregg, NetGuardians CEO and future group CEO.

“The opportunity to combine NetGuardians’ expertise and technology with Intix’ 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”, added Raffael Maio, NetGuardians’ Co-founder and CSO.