Phone-based fraud prevention company Pindrop acquired Next Caller this week. Terms of the deal were undisclosed.
Pindrop anticipates the purchase of NextCaller, a call verification and fraud detection solution for contact centers, will position the company for growth, expand its client base, and position it as an industry leader.
“Our two companies will now be able to service the market in its entirety with the right solution for whatever stage of voice security and authentication they are in,” said Next Caller Co-founder and CEO Ian Roncoroni.
The deal comes at a time when demand for call centers is expanding. In a recent report, Forrester found that 42% of brands surveyed saw an increase in year-over-year call center call volume since the pandemic began. Additionally, 65% of companies reported they struggle to manage the high call volume and 80% of firms reported that fraud is a very serious issue in the call center.
Given this, Pindrop CEO Vijay Balasubramaniyan has a positive outlook for the fraud prevention industry. “We couldn’t be more bullish about the future,” he said, “The need for our combined solutions will only continue to grow as brands across multiple industries not only look to better secure their voice channel, but also improve the customer experience. Understanding who you are speaking to is the most effective way to build a better relationship with customers, resulting in a higher NPS and subsequently more profitable exchanges.”
As for what’s next, Next Caller will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary under Pindrop.
Founded in 2011, Pindrop debuted an IVR solution as well as the availability of its voice authentication technology for use in OTT streaming devices. Headquartered in Alabama, Pindrop is privately held and has raised a total of $213 million from investors including Andreessen Horowitz and Citi Ventures.
