Semafone Announces Majority Investment from Livingbridge

PRESS RELEASE

Semafone®, the leading provider of data security and compliance solutions for call and contact centers, today announced that it has secured a majority investment from Livingbridge, a mid-market private equity firm with a global presence. The capital will enable Semafone to continue to invest in its industry-leading solutions portfolio, accelerate go-to-market strategy, and drive global expansion.

Worldwide spending on information security and risk management technology and services is forecast to grow 12.4% to reach $150.4 billion in 2021 according to Gartner, Inc. With a total addressable market of £1.4bn at the tipping point of digitalization, Semafone provides technology solutions that make it possible for businesses to remove the burden of lengthy, manual processes around consumer data protection, regulatory compliance, and security. Semafone’s best-in-class solutions enable compliant, secure, and frictionless customer interactions across mediums by preventing unauthorized access and storage of personally identifiable information (PII).

As payments and customer interactions become increasingly digitized, further compounded by the impact of the pandemic, Semafone is poised to disrupt the industry. With the frequency and severity of data breaches on the rise, there has been an uptick in more onerous global data security standards and regulations. According to Gartner Inc., by 2023, 65% of the world’s population will have its personal data covered under modern privacy regulations, up from 10% in 2020. All businesses with a customer-facing element will be challenged to transform their security and privacy processes to comply with regulations such as PCI DSS v4.0, GDPR, and HIPAA. Semafone empowers businesses to prioritize customer data privacy and compliance through secure, seamless, and omnichannel customer experiences.

“We have spent the last decade building the best solutions in the industry, and now is the time to further accelerate our growth by taking the company to the next level,” said Gary E. Barnett, CEO, Semafone. “We are excited to have Livingbridge as our partner as they share our vision for global market leadership. Our commitment to ensuring data security is stronger now than ever, and with this investment we now have the opportunity to educate, inform, and change the way organizations process and secure sensitive customer data.”

“Our investment in Semafone is timed with an increased demand for consumer data protection,” said Curt Kahn, Head of US at Livingbridge. “With a portfolio of solutions that aid in the prevention of data breaches, identity theft, and payment fraud, the opportunity is now for Semafone to capitalize on its offerings, and we are thrilled to invest in the company’s growth.”

For more information on Semafone, please visit: www.semafone.com

About Semafone

Semafone provides secure cloud, hybrid and on-premises solutions to contact centers and all businesses accepting payments. In a digital world that has transitioned to remote work environments, its award-winning payment solutions enable organizations to collect personal data securely across all channels – including the telephone, webchat, social media, email, SMS, QR codes and more. Through Semafone’s patented data capture methods, sensitive information such as payment card or bank details and personally identifiable information (PII), including social security numbers, are collected directly from the customer for processing. This data capture method prevents PII from entering the business and IT infrastructure, protecting against the risk of fraud and the associated reputational damage, ensuring compliance with industry regulations such as PCI DSS. Semafone’s suite of solutions creates a seamless, omnichannel experience that increases sales conversion rates and boosts customer loyalty, while simplifying compliance.

Founded in 2009, the company now supports customers in 26 countries on five continents. Semafone is vertically agnostic and its extensive customer base includes companies such as Amica Mutual Insurance, British Sky Broadcasting, BT Group, and Sutter Health.

As a recognized global leader in secure voice transactions, Semafone’s technology is integrated with over 30 Payment Service Providers. Semafone has achieved the leading security and payment certifications: ISO 27001:2013, UK Cyber Essentials certification, PA-DSS certification for its Cardprotect payment solution, PCI DSS Level 1 Service Provider, registered Visa Level 1 Merchant Agent and Mastercard Site Data Protection (SDP) Compliant Registered Service Provider. To learn more, visit www.semafone.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

About Livingbridge

Livingbridge is a mid-market private equity firm with offices in the UK, the US and Australia, investing in fast growing companies valued up to £300m. Our team have been backing growing businesses together for twenty years. We’ve done it over a hundred times, turning many into household names both at home and abroad. We get growth. We understand the people behind growing companies in consumer markets; healthcare and education; technology, media and telecommunications; financial services and business services, and help them achieve what’s right for them and their business.