KX Technology Wins Deal of the Year

Further to our announcement on 5th December 2017, KX as part of an investment & technology package with Auditcomply Ltd, Business Growth Fund, and InvestNI has been named Private Equity/Venture Capital Deal of the Year.

AuditComply will use KX technology and expertise to develop new software modules that will provide powerful, real-time analytics for supply chain auditing. The judges within the NI Deal Maker Awards felt that this was a ‘superb example of investors bringing more than just money to the table’.

Specifics of the Deal –

A high-growth software company headquartered in Belfast has become the first business to benefit from technology and investment as part of the strategic partnership between First Derivatives and BGF. AuditComply will use the new funding from BGF and existing investors Clarendon/CoFundNI together with First Derivatives’ KX technology to accelerate its growth.

Founded by tech entrepreneur Kevin Donaghy, AuditComply provides enterprise risk management software across the engineering, manufacturing, food and logistics industries.

AuditComply will use First Derivatives’ KX technology and expertise to develop new software modules that will provide powerful, real-time analytics for supply chain auditing.

The First Derivatives and BGF partnership combines access to BGF’s £2.5bn balance sheet and network of board level executives with First Derivatives’ technology and support.

Together, the mix of equity and technology has been designed to help high-potential and established companies scaleup through unlocking new markets or disrupting existing ones.

Kevin Donaghy, CEO, AuditComply said: “As a high-tech start-up going through significant growth we are very excited to be working with BGF and First Derivatives to help grow the company and become a leader in enterprise risk management. With customers in healthcare, automotive, manufacturing and retail, we need the support of our partners to capitalise in this exciting market.”

Brian Conlon, CEO, First Derivatives said: “We are pleased that AuditComply has chosen KX to support its exciting growth plans and help it scale in a rapidly growing market. KX is a key enabler of disruption across multiple industries and is ideally suited as a platform to manage the most demanding analytics challenges. We are particularly pleased to have worked alongside BGF on this agreement and look forward to building on our strategic partnership through similar deals in the future.”

About BGF and First Derivatives: BGF is the UK’s most active provider of growth capital to small and mid-sized businesses and recently announced a major commitment with the Irish Strategic Investment Fund to build a similar capability in the Republic of Ireland. First Derivatives’ KX technology, incorporating the kdb+ time-series database, is a leader in high-performance, in-memory computing, streaming analytics and operational intelligence. BGF and First Derivatives signed a strategic partnership agreement in February 2017 to support developing companies by providing access to BGF’s £2.5 billion balance sheet and FD’s KX technology. The aim is to turn bright ideas into disruptive companies in some of the most exciting areas of the economy.

KX Ventures supports entrepreneurs who are seeking to build disruptive technology and bring it to market quickly. Check out more information on the KX Ventures here.