Acin, a UK-based data standards firm for digitising operational and non-financial risk, has raised $12m in its series A round from a consortium including Fitch Ventures, the corporate venturing unit of US-based rating agency Fitch Group.
Fitch Group is owned by media group Hearst and its venture unit was formerly known as Hearst Financial Venture Fund. Acin is its first European deal.
Venture capital firm Notion Capital led the A round, which also included angel investors Cris Conde (former president & CEO of SunGard), Christopher Carter (chairman of Artorius Wealth Management) and Carlos Gonzales-Cadenas (chief operating officer at GoCardless). Additional strategic investors will join this round in a second closing, the company said.
Acin said it would develop its cloud-based Terminal to provide financial institutions with a complete front-to-back-office solution to assess and manage their operational and non-financial risks and expand into further sectors over time.
Paul Ford, CEO and founder of Acin, said: “To have Fitch invest in Acin is a testament to the importance of the opportunity we are addressing and a commitment to seeing it through – we are delighted to have their backing.”
Shea Wallon, managing director at Fitch Ventures, added: “We have been tracking Acin and talking to the team over the last 18 months – we have been impressed by both their client engagement and dedicated focus as they build their operational risk platform.”
Acin was advised by Zelig, an independent investment bank, with legal counsel from Withers.
