Quantexa is a global data and analytics software company that is pioneering Contextual Decision Intelligence, which empowers organizations to make trusted operational decisions by making data meaningful. To learn more about the company, Pulse 2.0 interviewed Quantexa founder and CEO Vishal Marria.
Vishal Marria’s Background
Vishal Marria grew up in South London and attended one of the roughest schools in the area where he was exposed to crime day-in-day-out.
“That was around the time that I started working in my father’s cash and carry stacking shelves. It was a good way to stay away from the trouble going on around me, and it was there, aged 16, that I found my work ethic,” said Marria. “Fast forward a few years and I was studying at Royal Holloway in London. Soon after, I joined BAE Systems which paved the way for me to become the youngest-ever director at Ernst and Young (EY) at 28. These professional experiences were instrumental in helping me to develop the skills, knowledge, and confidence to set up my own business. Today, Quantexa is a global leader in Decision Intelligence solutions working with some of the world’s largest banks, insurance and telecommunications companies, and public sector organizations to overcome their most critical data challenges.”
Formation Of Quantexa
After working for some of the biggest players in the industry, including Detica, NetReveal (BAE Systems), SAS, and EY, Marria knew something needed to change.
“Thousands of data-intensive organizations were facing the same challenge: they weren’t able to connect siloed and poor-quality data to support strategic and operational decision-making. My vision was to create context around data so that bad actors could be identified more easily and manual data gathering and matching could be automated at scale. This would free up investigators’ time to focus on more complex work, reducing false positives and improving accuracy, leading to better operational decision-making. This is Decision Intelligence,” Marria explained. “So, in 2016, I founded Quantexa. Our Decision Intelligence (DI) platform connects internal and external data sets to provide a single entity view, enriched with intelligence about the relationships between people, places and organizations. It’s fundamentally changing the way global organizations root out crime on a global scale.”
Challenges / Macroeconomic Climate
What are some of the challenges Marria faced in building Quantexa and has the current macroeconomic climate had any effect on the company?
Marria pointed out that the last few years have been challenging for businesses due to a number of external factors. “Heightened uncertainty, caused by the fast-changing landscape and global environment we work in is fundamentally changing the nature of how we respond to the challenges and opportunities our organizations face daily,” Marria acknowledged. “Organizations are having to navigate the impact of global economic volatility, stricter regulations, fast-paced technological changes, and evolving customer expectations. Together, these factors have made organizations recognize the value of trustworthy data. They need a reliable foundation and a single view of data that they can trust – it is this that becomes their most valuable resource across the organization.”
Core Products
What are Quantexa’s core products and features? Quantexa’s DI Platform enables enterprises to make better and more informed decisions by capturing dispersed data and making it understandable and actionable.
“We use best-in-class entity resolution to build a data foundation that fully represents our clients’ organization. We then establish networks that find hidden connections and apply advanced analytical models to identify risks and opportunities. The result is a continuous stream of relevant insights that maximize the value of our clients’ data assets – insights that help them solve business problems and capture otherwise hidden opportunities,” Marria shared. “Our DI platform leverages advanced technologies such as AI, machine learning, and big data analytics to help organizations make these more informed decisions. Some of the key capabilities of the platform include low-code data fusion, graph analytics, natural language processing, and real-time contextual decisioning. Additionally, Quantexa offers a suite of industry-specific solutions tailored to meet the needs of customers in areas such as financial crime prevention, customer intelligence, and supply chain risk management.”
Evolution Of Quantexa’s Technology
How has Quantexa’s technology evolved since launching? Initially, the company had focused on developing its platform’s data integration and analytics capabilities to help clients detect and prevent financial crimes. But as the company has grown, it has expanded its offerings to include a wider range of use cases and industries.
Now Quantexa’s platform includes Machine Learning (ML) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) capabilities, allowing it to use advanced AI to empower its clients to collect and analyze unstructured data to identify patterns that might otherwise have gone unnoticed. And Quantexa has also developed strategic partnerships with major technology and consulting firms like Google Cloud, Accenture, EY, Moody’s, KPMG, and Deloitte. These partnerships have helped the company expand its reach and further enhance the platform’s technological capabilities.
Biggest Company Milestones
What have been some of Quantexa’s most significant milestones? Along with the Series E funding round, a few other milestones so far include:
— The acquisition of Aylien has been a major milestone for Quantexa as it has significantly expanded the company’s natural language processing (NLP) capabilities. And this has enabled Quantexa to offer more advanced solutions that can analyze and interpret unstructured data, such as text and voice, to generate insights and make informed decisions. Plus the Aylien acquisition has also enhanced Quantexa’s ability to detect and prevent financial crime, which is a key area of focus for the company.
— Series D and Most Recently, Series E Funding Rounds: The Series D funding round was a crucial milestone for Quantexa as it enabled the company to raise $153 million, valuing it at over $1 billion. And this funding enabled Quantexa to accelerate its growth strategy, expand its global footprint, and invest in product development and innovation. Plus the success of the Series D round also demonstrated the market’s confidence in Quantexa’s technology and business model, paving the way for the Series E round that made Quantexa the first UK tech unicorn of 2023. The company raised $129 million giving it a total valuation of $1.8 billion.
— Google Partner of the Year: Being named Google Partner of the Year was a major milestone for Quantexa as it recognized the company’s innovative use of Google Cloud technology to develop its platform. The award had also highlighted Quantexa’s deep expertise in contextual decision intelligence and its ability to deliver transformative solutions to its customers. Plus this recognition has helped to raise Quantexa’s profile in the market, attract new customers, and establish it as a leading player in the space.
— Global Expansion to 14 Offices: The expansion of Quantexa’s global presence to 14 offices has been a major milestone for the company as it has allowed the company to better serve its growing customer base across different regions. And the global footprint has enabled Quantexa to attract top talent from around the world, build stronger relationships with customers and partners, better understand local market dynamics, and tailor its solutions to specific needs.
Customer Success Story
For the interview, I asked Marria if he could share a customer success story. “One case study that exemplifies the power of Quantexa’s technology is the partnership with BNY Mellon to enhance its AML capabilities,” Marria highlighted. “By utilizing Quantexa’s data analytics and AI capabilities, BNY Mellon was able to transform its AML processes by reducing false positives and improving the quality of its data. The result was a more efficient and effective system for detecting financial crime, allowing BNY Mellon to better serve its customers and stay ahead of the ever-evolving threat landscape. By leveraging the power of data analytics and AI, BNY Mellon and Quantexa have taken a major step forward in the fight against money laundering and other financial crimes.”
Funding/Revenue
Recently, Quantexa announced a $129 million Series E funding round. The latest funding round brings Quantexa’s valuation to $1.8 billion making Quantexa the first British Tech Company to make Unicorn status in 2023. And this round marked Quantexa’s ARR exceeding 100% since closing its Series D round. During the same period, Quantexa has seen robust growth in all regions, including a breakout performance in North America, with an increase in ARR of over 180%.
Total Addressable Market (TAM)
What is the total addressable market (TAM) size that is Quantexa pursuing? Marria cited the $230 billion Decision Intelligence category.
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates Quantexa from its competition? “Quantexa’s uses a low-code approach to enable business users to configure and customize their own solutions without the need for extensive IT support or coding skills. This allows organizations to quickly adapt to changing business needs and regulatory requirements. Quantexa’s team has a wealth of experience in financial services and has developed its technology with a deep understanding of the complex regulatory and compliance requirements of the industry. This positions Quantexa as a trusted partner for financial institutions looking to enhance their anti-money laundering, fraud detection, and risk management capabilities,” Marria replied. “We truly believe that our people are our greatest asset – they’re the heart and soul of the organization. This is why we prioritize creating a positive work environment where everyone feels supported and valued to reinforce this. We believe that investing in our people is essential to achieving our mission to empower the world’s most critical organizations.”
Future Company Goals
What are Quantexa’s future company goals? “One of Quantexa’s future company goals is to continue to penetrate new markets and expand our global presence. We want to build on the success we’ve had in the US market – we’ve seen a 180% ARR growth in North America – with a key focus on the New York City market. We recently opened a New York office in the Rockefeller Center to better serve our growing client base in the region,” Marria concluded. “Additionally, we plan to continue to develop the platform and expand on our product offerings, so organizations are able to fully harness the power of data to solve complex business challenges. The recent Aylien acquisition will further empower our clients to collect, analyze, and understand unstructured text data, enabling them to derive even more value from their vast swathes of data for more trusted and reliable decision-making.”
