Victoria-based Certn has acquired Credence, a provider of background checks solutions from the United Kingdom.
Co-founded in 2016 by Andrew McLeod, Owen Madrick, and Evan Dalton, Certn develops people intelligence technologies with a focus on real-time comprehensive background checks and ongoing risk monitoring for employees, contractors, and tenants.
According to McLeod, the deal combines the reliability and quality of Credence, with the speed and user experience enjoyed by Certn’s customers.
Attracting a client base of staffing firms, property management companies, and the gig economy, Certn’s platform uses artificial intelligence to predict applicant behaviours and has the ability to return domestic and international criminal background checks, credit reports, reference checks, education verification, employment verification, motor vehicle records, and identity verification within minutes.
According to the startup, its acquisition of Credence will benefit customers of both companies through further product development that includes faster background checks and expanded services.
RELATED: Certn raises $975,000 to use AI for background checks
Credence was incorporated in 2009 and primarily serves the Europe, Middle East, and Africa markets with customers ranging from professional services clients to sports organizations.
According to McLeod, the deal combines the reliability and quality of Credence, with the speed and user experience of Certn.
“Our mission at Certn has always been to deliver the most frictionless candidate background check experience, whilst delivering a fast, reliable and comprehensive service for our clients,” he said.
To scale its offering, Certn appointed Susan Davis as its first ever chief technology officer in July last year. Davis brings 15 years of experience as a senior software engineer and manager.
Her two most recent roles were vice president of engineering at Dessa and Xtiva Financial Systems where Davis helped lead Dessa to a “successful exit for its founders” and made significant improvements in Xtiva. She has also worked at Amazon and served as director of engineering at FreshBooks.
Certn has previously closed a string of funding rounds to support the expansion of its product strategy and to allow for more hires.
In 2021, Certn revealed it raised $43 million over a one-year period, consisting of a $27.8 million Series A round that closed in November, a $9.5 million Series A extension, and a $6.1 million seed financing. In September 2017, Certn won $10,000 at the BCIC-New Ventures competition in the top regional startup category.