Squirro signs European Central Bank, buys open.exchange, raises $4m

Squirro, a Switzerland-based provider of augmented intelligence solutions, has embarked on a project with the European Central Bank (ECB), raised $4 million in equity funding, and acquired US start-up deal sourcing platform open.exchange.

Squirro works with ECB

In a “major project” with the ECB, Squirro says it has implemented its Insight Engine and Risk Insights solution at the bank. The deal was signed in Q4 last year.

Squirro already works with central banks such as the UK’s Bank of England and Germany’s Deutsche Bundesbank (as well as commercial banks like Standard Chartered and ING).

The vendor says its Insight Engine improves access to information by connecting all data sources and applying natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML) to deliver the right information to users at the right time.

This, it adds, is augmented by Risk Insights, which monitors and contextualises all relevant risk factors. Teams are provided with insights and next-best-action recommendations to help actively assess and mitigate ongoing risk levels.

Squirro says that its flexibility and scalability enable it to achieve go-lives in just two weeks.

Squirro has also acquired the aforementioned open.exchange, which will be integrated with Squirro’s existing applications.

Dorian Selz, Squirro CEO and co-founder

“Our growth curve continues to rise sharply, and this acquisition puts us firmly on the map in the US,” states Dr. Dorian Selz, CEO and co-founder of Squirro.

He describes the acquired solution as “a highly complementary proposition to Squirro’s”.

Austin, Texas-based open.exchange describes itself as an artificial intelligence (AI) driven platform “promising to change the way entrepreneurs connect with investors to help them fund and build their companies”.

It’s a start-up with a waiting list on its website.

Open.exchange was acquired from BuildGroup, a capital investment firm founded by former Rackspace CEO Lanham Napier.

As part of the acquisition, BuildGroup has made a $4 million equity investment in Squirro.

This adds to $11.5 million previously raised by the firm in a series of funding rounds.

Founded in 2012, Squirro targets the financial services, insurance, telecommunications, and manufacturing industries. It has presence in Zurich (HQ), London, Munich, New York, and Singapore.