Outside IQ

OutsideIQ, operating under the name Outside Intelligence Inc., was a search and analytics firm established in Toronto, Canada. Founded in July 2009 by Dan Adamson, the company positioned itself at the intersection of cognitive computing and risk management. Adamson, the company's CEO, brought a background as a search and BI algorithms expert, having held key technical roles at Microsoft for the Bing Health Team and Health Solutions Search. This expertise in search technology was a foundational element of the company's core offering. The firm developed a proprietary software platform designed to help enterprises interpret vast quantities of unstructured data to inform critical business decisions, aiming to reduce risk and costs.

The company's flagship product was DDIQ, a cognitive computing platform engineered to automate and enhance due diligence processes. DDIQ utilized machine learning and natural language processing to sift through public information, including the internet, regulatory databases, global media, and the deep web, to identify potential risks. This technology was designed to emulate the interpretive abilities of a human investigator, flagging individuals and companies that could pose a financial, regulatory, or reputational threat. The platform served clients primarily in the financial services sector, including banks, investment firms, and large corporations that required robust Know Your Customer (KYC), Anti-Money Laundering (AML), and counterparty risk assessments. The service was delivered through a web portal, PDF reports, or an API, offering scalable and customizable risk screening.

OutsideIQ's business model was centered on providing its software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform to these large enterprises, helping them to manage regulatory compliance and due diligence more efficiently. A significant milestone in the company's history was its acquisition by Exiger, a global financial crime, risk, and compliance company, in April 2017. The acquisition was valued at $22.2 million (C$30 million) and was a strategic move for Exiger to integrate OutsideIQ's AI-driven technology into its suite of compliance solutions. The integration aimed to address pressing issues in the financial industry, such as transaction alert monitoring, customer onboarding, and third-party risk management. Following the acquisition, the OutsideIQ team and its DDIQ platform were absorbed into Exiger to bolster its technological capabilities in the RegTech space.

Keywords: OutsideIQ, DDIQ, Exiger, Dan Adamson, cognitive computing, due diligence, risk management, financial compliance, RegTech, anti-money laundering, know your customer, counterparty risk, third-party risk, data analytics, machine learning, natural language processing, intelligent search, financial crime, compliance automation, risk assessment