AI business snapped up by US tech company

Risk intelligence company Crisp, one of the tech success stories of Leeds has been acquired by US-based Kroll, the leading provider of data, technology and insights related to risk, governance and growth

Founded by Adam Hildreth, the Leeds-based tech firm has continued to grow as it looks to coral the digital wild west that is the internet and protect brands reputations from dark web attacks.

This acquisition will accelerate Kroll’s digital service capabilities with the leading expert in fast, actionable risk intelligence and comes seven months after it was first reported to have appointed the investment bank Lazard to advise on a sale of at least part of the company’s equity.

Crisp has been training its AI technology over 16 years to discover and track the risk signals embedded within digital chatter and works with some of the world’s biggest brands including Coca Cola, Disney and last year helped track the racist abuse targeted at England footballers following Euro 2020. Its comprehensive suite of intelligence solutions serves the global enterprise needs of communications, digital marketing, trust and safety, security and compliance clients across the globe.

Hildreth set up the business 2005, with a mission to protect children and teenagers using online games, apps and social networks from pedophiles and child exploitation groups. Since then it has expanded to protect over $6.5 trillion in combined customer market capitalisation for over 1,000 brands, with Hildreth also helping to found the Online Safety Tech Industry Association (OSTIA).

Following the acquisition Hildreth and Crisp’s executive chairman Andrew Burke will become a part of Kroll’s digital services leadership team.

The deal brings together Crisp’s AI technology alongside the leader of risk intelligence technology, Resolve who Kroll acquired in march this year.

Burke said: “Digital chatter is an essential source of risk intelligence for protecting the global enterprise. In recent years, risks originating from or becoming amplified by digital chatter across the open, deep and dark web have reached an unprecedented scale. It’s now a board-level issue and C-suite responsibility.

“Joining the Kroll team strengthens our client promise to provide fast, actionable risk intelligence that delivers peace of mind, 24/7/365. By combining our AI technology and real-time alerts with Kroll’s world-class risk advisory expertise, and Resolver’s cutting-edge customer-focused SaaS interface and analytics machine, we see a huge potential to expand Kroll’s client solutions.”

Jake Silverman, chief executive officer of Kroll added: “The ethos of our business has long centered around risk, governance and value creation. This acquisition helps us reinforce our growing position as a tech-enabled firm that marries data and technology with global professional services. I am thrilled to welcome Crisp to the Kroll family.

“We now have the opportunity to combine our recently acquired Resolver platform with the capabilities of Crisp to create the most unique Risk Intelligence platform in the world. Our clients need partners and technology that can anticipate their needs across their entire enterprise, and the addition of the Crisp team to our business is a strategic extension of our investment in expanding our risk intelligence solutions.”

DWF’s legal advisory team advised the shareholder base on the sale, which included senior management, Baird Capital who invested in Crisp in 2018 as well as over 200 of Crisp’s employees who took equity and joined in the transaction.

The team included corporate and tax DWF partners Lester Wilson, Wendy Harrison, James Cashman and John Toon, senior associate Matthew Judge, associates Graham Tait and Alex Tolcher, and trainee solicitor Gemma Nicol.

Wilson said: “We have acted for Crisp since 2006 and have seen it evolve from a start up to a world leader in risk intelligence. Crisp is a great strategic fit with Kroll and this transaction represents a great return for shareholders and employees. That so many of those employees have been able to participate in this deal is testament to the management team’s vision and leadership.”