Fort Worth-based alternative investment manager Crestline Investors has invested £45 million—nearly $57 million U.S.—in Napier AI, a London-based financial crime compliance RegTech.
Napier said Crestline’s investment will accelerate its growth trajectory and enhance its position for a transformational time in the industry for “know your customer” and anti-money laundering solutions. The amount of the investment was not disclosed.
“We’re excited to work with the Napier AI team and believe their market-leading, AI-powered technology platform is well-positioned to help financial institutions and other regulated companies excel in an environment with rapidly expanding transaction volumes and increasing regulatory requirements,” Crestline Managing Director Will Palmer said in a statement.
Napier helps customers screen, monitor, and identify criminal activities
founded in 2015, Napier is a provider of AI-enhanced financial crime and regulation technology compliance software. It provides anti-money laundering solutions across the banking, payments, and wealth and asset management industries.
Napier’s solutions are used by customers to screen, monitor, and identify criminal or suspicious activities, with the added functionality of regulatory reporting. Without these solutions, customers may be exposed to greater financial, reputational, and regulatory risk, or large operational overheads, the firm said.
Investing in ‘next-gen AI-enhanced solutions’
Napier AI said historically, it has driven strong topline growth without a traditional private equity sponsor or significant institutional capital. Since 2021, top-line revenue has grown at 30%+ year over year, as Napier AI has invested in its go-to-market organization and boosted its product line via dedicated R&D.
Napier said that Crestline’s investment will help to further business expansion in the coming years, enabling it to continue developing and serving financial institutions with next-gen screening and monitoring solutions, powered by explainable AI that delivers true value.
“We’re pleased to deliver strong, continuous growth in a challenging market,” Napier AI CEO Greg Watson said in a statement. “Financial crime compliance operations and regulatory pressure continue to be large overheads for financial institutions, so there is a need to invest in NextGen AI-enhanced solutions with the benefit of trusted technology and delivery.” 
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