Pondera Solutions Scores Investment from SF Equity Firm

Serent Capital, a San Francisco-based private equity firm, has announced a growth investment in Pondera Solutions, a provider of software targeting fraud, waste and abuse in large government programs.

Pondera, based in Gold River, Calif., uses advanced predictive algorithms and cloud computing in its core solution, Fraud Detection as a Service (FDaaS), to quickly sift through massive data sets to help its clients detect claims and payments and alert agencies to problems that need investigation. FDaaS, which has been in operation since 2013, has already saved states hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars in Medicaid, unemployment insurance and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, according to a news release from Serent.

“I’m very pleased that Pondera’s first institutional investment came from Serent Capital,” said Jon Coss, founder and CEO of Pondera. “Serent is our ideal partner because of their operational capabilities and history of successfully growing companies like ours.

Supporting Pondera’s award-winning software is the firm’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU), which includes certified fraud examiners, data mining experts, statisticians and former law enforcement agents and government program integrity managers.

“Built by investigators, for investigators” is how Pondera describes the software.

David Kennedy, a partner in Serent, explained in a news release that his firm had been “exploring investment opportunities in state and local government for some time and feel privileged to partner with Jon and the Pondera team.”

Kennedy added: “Pondera’s impressive client base, strong track record in identifying and preventing fraud, and product leadership in the fraud detection and prevention space lay a terrific foundation for long-term success. We are excited to work with the team to help accelerate the success they have had.”

The size of Serent’s investment in Pondera was not disclosed.

In November 2014, Coss was recognized by the Sacramento Regional Technology Alliance as the "Next Tech Innovator of the Year." He writes a newsy, highly readable blog of interest to those in the tech industry and related fields. It can be found on Pondera’s website, www.ponderasolutions.com.

For more information about Serent, go to www.serentcapital.com.