Parabellum Investments, the family office of fintech investor Rami Cassis, has acquired the French-British AI-based financial platform ABAKA.
The deal comes only months after the investor bought digital banking software provider Connect FSS in the US.
Cassis confirmed to QA Financial today that his family office has struck an agreement to take over ABAKA through ieDigital, which is a UK-based digital banking software firm and a portfolio company of Parabellum Investments.
The acquisition is ieDigital’s latest move “to become the world’s largest provider of fintech software to mid-tier banks in the US and UK, adding a layer of intelligence to the company’s growing umbrella of products,” Cassis said.
In October 2023, ieDigital added the US-based digital banking software provider Connect FSS to its portfolio, in what was seen as a major push into the US credit union market.
Cassis therefore called the ABAKA buy “a logical next step” in solidifying ieDigital as the foremost provider of fintech software for mid-market financial institutions globally, following the acquisition of Connect in October.
ABAKA, like Connect FSS, will be integrated with ieDigital under current chief executive officer, Jerry Young.
ABAKA
ABAKA is an AI-driven recommendation engine platform which uses machine learning and behavioural segmentation to predict which products – such as savings accounts or retirement solutions – are the most likely to be bought by financial services consumers.
The platform utilises AI to analyse customer data and life stages to provide highly tailored recommendations for financial decision-making.
It enables banks, credit unions and other personal finance providers to deliver on-demand and, what it calls, “hyper-personalised customer experiences and insights,” which increase engagement and retention, and drive product upselling and cross-selling opportunities.
“ABAKA uses various data points to better understand customers’ behavioural, social, financial and emotional state.“
Rami Cassis
Cassis pointed out that “ABAKA’s advanced AI capabilities, specifically designed for personalised financial insights, ensure ieDigital can continue to provide a more comprehensive suite of services and high-level solutions to meet the increased demand for customer-centric solutions.”
When asked to elaborate, he explained that “ABAKA uses various data points to better understand customers’ behavioural, social, financial and emotional state.”
In other words, “it creates a far more personalized view of the customer and eliminates bias often associated with AI products.”
ABAKA was founded in 2016 and is based in the UK, with offices in France and the UAE. Among some of its large financial services clients are HSBC and Prudential.
“ABAKA will enhance the company’s offering as it enables banks and financial institution to offer members and customers more tailored services and products,” Cassis continued.
“This latest acquisition further positions ieDigital at the forefront of innovation in the financial services sector, driving the industry’s shift towards increased customer-centricity,” he stressed.
Long-term strategy
Cassis stressed that the deal is “a continuation of Cassis’ long-term strategy to acquire and integrate mid-market b2b businesses that operate within specialist and high-demand niches “” so that they can provide their clients with global end-to-end solutions.”
In June 2023, Cassis acquired US-based manufacturing automation business Vantage through serialisation specialist Advanco to create the world’s largest independent pharmaceutical serialisation solutions provider.
“Providing hyper-tailored services and products is crucial for financial institutions to stay ahead in an increasingly competitive landscape,” Cassis said.
“We continue to seek acquisitions to grow our combined fintech and enterprise software platform. As a family office, we take a hands-on approach to growing businesses through our operational experience,” he concluded.
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