Visa agrees to buy AI-focused enterprise tech firm Featurespace

(Reuters) -Visa has agreed to buy AI-focused Featurespace, which develops enterprise technology preventing fraud and financial crime, for an undisclosed amount, it said on Thursday.

Top tech companies are racing to build artificial intelligence into their products and services, leading to surging demand for AI chips, services and machine learning technology.

Visa said Featurespace’s AI-enabled solutions will help its clients manage fraud in real time and protect its payment ecosystem.

While the world’s largest payments processor did not reveal the value of the acquisition, a Sky News report last month cited sources pegging it close to £700 million ($935.06 million).

Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Cambridge, UK, Featurespace has over 400 team members, operating globally from six locations. Its customers include leading payments and banking companies such as HSBC, NatWest, and Worldpay.

($1 = 0.7486 pounds)

(Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)