Ninth Wave Company Profile

Background

Ninth Wave, established in 2018, is a leading provider of cloud-based Open Finance solutions for financial institutions. The company's mission is to deliver a secure, seamless, and productive platform for financial data that strengthens, simplifies, and empowers open finance. Its vision is to lead the future of secure data connectivity, accessibility, and deliverability, driven by a passion for insight, integrity, and purpose. Ninth Wave's core values include innovation, trust, integrity, and collaboration.

Headquartered in New York City, Ninth Wave serves over 2,000 financial institution clients, including seven of the top ten U.S. banks and eight of the top ten U.S. wealth management firms. The company provides secure connectivity for over 120 million accounts, enabling seamless integration with the fintech ecosystem.

Key Strategic Focus

Ninth Wave specializes in delivering secure data connectivity between financial institutions and third-party applications, including aggregators, fintechs, accounting solutions, tax preparation software, and other consumer and business solutions. The company's SaaS platform offers financial institutions a single, secure, scalable gateway that enables consumer and commercial customers to access their data conveniently.

The platform is built from the ground up for open finance, with over 30 years of deep financial services and technology expertise, to aggregate, connect, and capture permissioned data to and from any financial institution, software solution, and fintech app. This forms a virtuous circle of data streaming with unparalleled security, integrity, and compliance standards.

Financials and Funding

In September 2024, Ninth Wave secured growth financing from Level Structured Capital, an affiliate of Level Equity, a growth equity firm with over $3 billion in assets under management. This funding is intended to expand the company's commercial team and invest further in its Open Finance connectivity platform.

Previously, in July 2019, Ninth Wave received a significant minority investment from SARORAS Private Capital, a private equity firm. The proceeds were used to accelerate the company's growth through further development of its flagship SaaS solution, new sales and marketing initiatives, and the expansion of its leadership team.

As of 2023, Ninth Wave's revenue reached $2 million, up from $1.6 million in 2021. The company has shown consistent revenue growth since its launch in 2018.

Technological Platform and Innovation

Ninth Wave's platform delivers secure data connectivity to financial institutions through a single point of direct integration to a universal suite of open finance APIs. With configurable controls, visibility, and insights into all data sharing and acquisition connections between aggregators, third-party apps, and internal applications, Ninth Wave empowers financial institutions and their customers with access and oversight to their connected apps, enabling secure data exchange in a holistic and scalable open finance ecosystem.

The platform is centered around data sharing and data acquisition, ensuring that any application requiring access to financial data can do so securely, with permission, and in real-time. This approach eliminates the need for financial institutions to maintain custom interfaces with multiple data aggregators or data providers, streamlining operations and enhancing security.

Leadership Team

George Anderson, Founder & CEO

George Anderson founded Ninth Wave in 2018 after serving as the CEO of Enterprise Engineering, Inc. (EEI) for over 25 years. He has significant technology and data consulting experience with wealth managers, including long-term engagements with firms like JP Morgan and Merrill Lynch. An expert on information management and the implementation of technology to solve business problems across the banking and finance industries, Anderson has authored several books and articles on enterprise architecture, relational database design, Internet development, and high-performance computing.

Thomas Fast, Chief Financial Officer and Head of Corporate Development

Joined Ninth Wave in March 2023, bringing extensive experience in financial management and corporate development.

Nanette Di Tosto, Chief Operating Officer

Oversees the company's operations, ensuring efficiency and effectiveness across all departments.

Jack Cassaro, Chief Technology Officer

Leads the technology strategy and development, focusing on innovation and scalability.

Douglas Bacon, Chief Revenue Officer & Strategic Sales Director

Responsible for driving revenue growth and strategic sales initiatives.

Cameron Taylor, Chief Product Officer

Leads product development and strategy, ensuring alignment with market needs and company goals.

Leadership Changes

In March 2023, Ninth Wave appointed Thomas Fast as Chief Financial Officer and Head of Corporate Development. Additionally, in April 2022, Douglas Bacon joined as Chief Revenue Officer, and Cameron Taylor was appointed as Chief Product Officer.

Competitor Profile

Market Insights and Dynamics

The open finance industry is experiencing significant growth, driven by increasing demand for secure and seamless data connectivity between financial institutions and third-party applications. Financial institutions are seeking solutions that enable them to provide their clients with real-time, secure, reliable, and privacy-compliant data connectivity to a vast ecosystem of fintech providers.

Competitor Analysis

Ninth Wave operates in a competitive landscape with several key players:

Finicity: Develops open banking solutions, enabling financial institutions to provide their clients with real-time access to financial data.

Flinks: Provides open banking solutions, allowing financial institutions to connect their clients with a wide range of financial services.

dv01: Offers a data intelligence platform with integrated loan-level consumer credit data and analytics.

Apiax: Develops tools to manage financial regulations digitally, assisting financial institutions in compliance management.

Strategic Collaborations and Partnerships

Ninth Wave has established significant partnerships to enhance its market position and innovation capacity:

Axos Bank: Expanded its relationship with Ninth Wave for secure Open Finance connectivity.

Dragonfly Financial Technologies Corp: Partnered with Ninth Wave to provide banks with secure, seamless connections to popular fintech applications and industry-leading enrollment-as-a-service solutions.

Operational Insights

Ninth Wave's strategic focus on delivering secure, scalable, and efficient data connectivity solutions positions it favorably in the competitive landscape. The company's emphasis on security, compliance, and seamless integration offers distinct competitive advantages, enabling financial institutions to meet the evolving demands of their clients effectively.

Strategic Opportunities and Future Directions

Ninth Wave is poised to capitalize on the growing demand for open finance solutions by continuing to innovate and expand its platform capabilities. The company's strong foundation, strategic partnerships, and commitment to security and compliance position it well to lead the future of secure data connectivity in the financial services industry.