Leeds-based risk intelligence company Crisp has been acquired by US tech firm Kroll, the leading provider of data, technology and insights related to risk, governance and growth.
Crisp was established by founder and CEO Adam Hildreth in 2005 with a mission to protect children and teenagers using online games, apps and social networks from paedophiles and child exploitation groups.
Its AI technology has been trained over 16 years to discover and track the risk signals embedded within digital chatter.
Since 2005, Hildreth’s original vision of helping to create a digital world that is safe for everyone has expanded to protect over $6.5 trillion in combined customer market capitalisation for over 1,000 brands.
Following the acquisition, Hildreth and Crisp’s Executive Chairman Andrew Burke will become a part of Kroll’s digital services leadership team.
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.”
This announcement follows the recent acquisition of Resolver, a leading risk intelligence technology firm, to the Kroll digital services portfolio.
Jake Silverman, Chief Executive Officer of Kroll, said: “The ethos of our business has long centred 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.”
In November 2021 Crisp won the Judges’ Award at the Northern Tech Awards for International Success for having the ‘most impressive international reach’.