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A year after its acquisition by Constellation Software, mortgage technology provider Dark Matter Technologies continues to build its customer roster after announcing plans to expand its product lineup and bring in a new CEO in April.
Dark Matter, a company spun off from Intercontinental Exchange’s 2023 acquisition of Black Knight to satisfy antitrust regulators, signs on with Shore United Bank as an Empower Loan Origination System (LOS) customer tied.
Shore United Bank, a community bank serving Maryland, Delaware and Virginia, will also use part of Dark Matter’s AIVA AI virtual assistant solution, executives from both companies announced Nov. 25. mentioned in.
Empower LOS “takes a task-based rather than a linear approach to automating loan disbursements, allowing multiple processes to run simultaneously with minimal lender intervention,” Dark Matter said. the executive said. “By tapping employees only when necessary to manage exceptions, Empower LOS streamlines the initiation workflow, resulting in significant time and cost savings.”
Dark Matter’s AIVA AI virtual assistant solution includes document management, income and asset verification, quality control automation, compliance monitoring, and business intelligence.
corey galinsky
“This partnership will make the mortgage process smoother and more efficient, helping customers achieve their dreams of homeownership with greater ease and confidence,” Shore United EVP Corey Galinsky said in a statement. This will strengthen our efforts to do so.”
In October, Dark Matter announced a similar seven-year deal with Sandy, Utah-based Runlife Home Loans.
Credit unions are another avenue for growth for Jacksonville, Fla.-based Dark Matter, which last year joined the American Credit Union Mortgage Association (ACUMA) as an associate member.
Shortly after, Dark Matter announced an agreement with CUSO Home Lending, a credit union servicing organization and licensed mortgage company based in Hampden, Maine, to make Empower LOS available to credit union owners. Ta.
Four CUSO Home Lending partner credit unions have agreed to use Empower’s joint venture capabilities, allowing them to apply their own branding and pricing to mortgages originated through CUSO Home Lending’s shared services model. It has become.
Credit union customers announced by Dark Matter in the past 12 months include Publix Employees Federation Credit Union (Lakeland, FL), Patelco Credit Union (Dublin, CA), Monterra Credit Union (Redwood City, CA), Truity Credit Union (Bartlesville, Oklahoma). ).
under new ownership
Dark Matter, formerly known as Black Knight Origination Technologies LLC, is one of more than 800 subsidiaries of Constellation Software Inc., a publicly traded Toronto-based company with a market capitalization of US$72.3 billion (C$101.5 billion). is.
Constellation Software last year acquired Black Knight’s Empower LOS and AIVA AI assistant in a deal that also included Black Knight’s Optimal Blue mortgage marketplace, LendingSpace correspondent lending system, and Exchange network of service providers for lenders and servicers.
Dark Matter added NOVA Loan Origination System (LOS) to its product lineup in September, which it says will allow it to “offer two different LOS solutions and accommodate more diverse lender business models.” the company said.
Constellation Mortgage Solutions, another Constellation subsidiary, launched NOVA LOS in 2022 and declared it the new “gold standard in mortgage origination technology.”
Sean Dugan
“By aligning Empower LOS and NOVA LOS under the Dark Matter brand, we are creating a powerhouse in loan origination technology,” Dark Matter Chief Revenue Officer Sean Dugan said in a statement.
CEO transition plan
Dark Matter announced last month that Dugan would take over as CEO from Rich Gagliano in April. This is a succession plan aimed at ensuring “continuity, stability and uninterrupted progress towards the company’s strategic roadmap and long-term goals.”
Mr. Dugan’s 25 years of mortgage industry expertise includes 14 years working with Gagliano at Dark Matter and its predecessor, Black Knight Origination Technologies.
Although Galliano wants to spend more time with his family, he will remain involved with Dark Matter in his new role as Executive Chairman.
Rich Gagliano
“I am extremely proud of what we have built at Dark Matter and am confident that the best days are ahead for the company,” Gagliano said in a statement. “Having worked with Sean for many years, I have absolute confidence in his leadership and the readiness of his team to execute the strategy we developed together. I know we are in capable hands and I look forward to supporting Sean and our clients as I take on the role of Executive Chairman.”
Since relaunching as Dark Matter in September 2023, the company has assembled a leadership team that includes Mike Housch (Chief Risk and Information Security Officer); Stephanie Derflinger (Chief Product Officer); Tony Fox (Director of Customer Engagement); Vikas Rao (Deputy Chief Product Officer).
“Berkshire Hathaway of Tech”
Dark Matter’s parent company, Constellation Software, is a growing behemoth that has been dubbed the “Berkshire Hathaway of technology” by The Economist magazine, calling it “the world’s best acquirer of technology companies.”
Constellation Software, organized under six business groups, acquires, manages and generates revenue from more than 800 growing software companies. According to Constellation’s most recent annual report, the company’s subsidiaries employ more than 56,000 people and operate more than 100 businesses, including many niche areas such as event management, forestry, public libraries, day care, and RV and boat dealerships. Serving vertical markets.
Dark Matter is part of Constellation Software’s Perseus group. The group is also home to real estate technology providers such as Market Leader, TopProducer, Constellation1, Zurple, SmartZip, and TORCHx.
Like Berkshire Hathaway, Constellation “will not integrate newly acquired companies or parachute into new management,” The Economist noted in a company profile dated Nov. 30, 2023. did. It is “content to leave day-to-day operations to its existing management team” and is using cash flowing from its subsidiaries to acquire additional new businesses.
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