New Delhi: Fintech SaaS startup Signzy has successfully acquired Difenz, a fraud risk management (FRM) solutions provider. The deal is valued at $5 Mn, and it included both cash and equity. This strategic move aims to strengthen Signzy’s artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, allowing the startup to offer advanced Know Your Customer (KYC) compliance solutions to financial institutions. The acquisition brings Difenz’s expertise in full-stack financial risk management (FRM) to Signzy, enhancing its offerings with features like anti-money laundering (AML) screening and transaction monitoring.
Difenz was founded in 2020 by University of Madras alumni Sivaram Jayaraman and Madhu Srinivas. It provides a versatile FRM platform for transaction monitoring, compatible with various payment methods such as cards, point-of-sale (POS) systems, payment gateways, core banking systems, and digital wallets.
Post-acquisition, Difenz’s co-founders assume key roles as partners at Signzy. The deal also marks an exit for early-stage venture capital (VC) firm 8i Ventures, which had invested around INR 4.5 Cr in Difenz’s seed funding round in 2021.
Signzy CEO and co-founder Ankit Ratan expressed enthusiasm about the acquisition, stating, “Difenz’s product is plug and play, we experienced it first hand when one of our common customers was able to go live within just 2 weeks on their transaction monitoring tool. We couldn’t have wished for a better team to lead this offering.”
Signzy was established in 2015 and it specializes in digital onboarding solutions for banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) through its no-code platform. The startup has raised over $37 Mn to date and collaborates with more than 240 financial institutions, including State Bank of India, Axis Bank, and IndusInd Bank.
This acquisition aligns with Signzy’s goal to provide end-to-end customer journey management, enabling clients to focus on their core business activities, as mentioned by Difenz co-founder Madhu Srinivas. The move comes amid a slowdown in mergers and acquisitions in the Indian startup ecosystem in 2023, with 55% of surveyed investors anticipating a more favorable environment for exits in 2024.