Digital banking infra provider Signzy acquires Difenz at $5 million valuation

Digital banking infrastructure provider Signzy has acquired Bengaluru-based Difenz, a fraud risk management solutions provider, in a cash-and-equity deal at a valuation of $5 million.

Founded in 2020 by Madhu Srinivas and Sivaram Jayaraman, Difenz helps financial institutions with compliance solutions.

Signzy will now provide AI-led KYC (know your customer) compliance solutions to financial institutions, the company said.


"We are delighted to welcome Difenz to the Signzy family. This will help us provide solutions to our customers that seamlessly integrate with our current KYC onboarding systems,” said Ankit Ratan, CEO & cofounder, Signzy.

The acquisition also gives an exit to early-stage venture capital fund 8i Ventures, which had invested Rs 4.5 crore in a seed round in Difenz. 8i Ventures primarily focuses on Indian startups and has invested in Slice, M2P, Kodo, Easebuzz, Blue Tokai, Carwale.com, EzeTap and Freo.

“We invested in Difenz due to our confidence in their innovative product in compliance and fraud risk management, which was rare in an industry dominated by old incumbents,” Vikram Chachra, founding partner at 8i Ventures, said.

“We are delighted with Signzy and Difenz joining forces, as Signzy brings a larger client base and provides Difenz with the opportunity to enhance the adoption of their market-leading product by banks across India, the Middle East, and the US,” he added.