3 Notable Regtech Startups: Apiax, ComplyAdvantage, Ascent
Regulations such as PSD2 and GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) have put regtech companies at the front and center of the global fintech ecosystem.
In fact, a recent report shows that the global regtech market is expected to grow from $4.3 billion last year to $12.3 billion by 2023. With such strong tailwinds behind the industry, these regtech startups deserve a closer look.
Zurich, Switzerland-based regtech startup Apiax translates confusing regulations into easy-to-understand digital regulatory rules, which are constantly updated and verified, and accessible via an API. This allows clients to easily view legal and compliance matters, which gives them more efficient and compliant results than consulting a regular legal team.
The firm was ranked among the top 100 startups in Switzerland by the top 100 Swiss Startup awards in 2018, ranking #68. Apiax in March won the Swiss Fintech 2019 award for “Early Stage Startup of the Year.”
In 2017, the year of its founding, Apiax raised $1.5 million in one seed funding round led by Zurcher Kantonal Bank.
Founded in 2014, ComplyAdvantage is an AML data generating company that seeks to reinvent the way in which AML exposure data gets compiled.
According to the firm’s website, instead of using the traditional method of gathering and generating AML exposure data by only using data analysts, ComplyAdvantage uses AI to automatically monitor global data sources, identify those with AML risk, and enhance data.
The London-based regtech with offices in New York, Singapore and Romania, covers over 200 countries and territories and updates 30,000 profiles daily through comprehensive analysis.
ComplyAdvantage in January raised $30 million from a Series B round of funding led by Index Ventures. This raised ComplyAdvantage’s total amount of funding to $38.2 million.
Ascent Technologies, a Chicago-based regtech founded in 2015, provides a cloud-based, end-to-end compliance platform powered by AI that can distill complex regulations into daily tasks that are connected to internal controls, policies and procedures, with full traceability. It was admitted into the Wells Fargo Startup Accelerator in March.
The firm advertises itself as an intelligence-as-a-service (“INTaaS”) provider. Ascent launched a change management solution, which helps customers improve their change management processes in relation to changing regulations, in March.
“Ascent Change Management is the only solution of its kind that is 100% automated, freeing compliance teams from the most tedious and error-prone components of their compliance programs,” the company said upon the solution’s release.
By using horizon scanning technology, Ascent automatically informs firms of any regulatory changes and what obligations that might entail for those firms.
