ShopRunner has gone shopping for a Chicago startup that uses artificial intelligence to help companies with fraud prevention.
ShopRunner, an e-commerce shipping and checkout startup, announced Tuesday it has acquired Precognitive, a startup that helps businesses fight online fraud. With the acquisition, ShopRunner will now provide Precognitive's product to its network of retailers.
ShopRunner relocated its headquarters from San Mateo, Calif., to Chicago in 2016 when Sam Yagan was named the company's CEO. Yagan, the former Match Group CEO and founder of dating site OKCupid, is also an investor through his VC firm Corazon Capital.
Corazon Capital led Precognitive's $1.25 million seed round in 2017. Precognitive's other backers include Flybridge Capital Partners, Hyde Park Ventures and Jeff Liesendahl, the co-founder and CEO of Accertify.
Founded in 2016, Precognitive uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to identify potential online fraud before it happens. Its technology analyzes multiple parts of a user’s interaction with an online service to identify suspicious behavior.
"Precognitive equips our partners with industry-leading algorithms to detect and combat online fraud and account takeover issues taking a toll on their e-commerce revenue and interfering with their ability to offer a seamless and safe shopping experience for customers," Yagan said in a statement.
Through its e-commerce network, ShopRunner helps more than 100 brands like Neiman Marcus, Kate Spade and Cole Haan offer free two-day shipping, free returns and seamless checkout.
The acquisition comes on the heels of ShopRunner's $40 million fundraise in October 2018. ShopRunner also announced Tuesday that UPS participated in its most recent round of funding.
