The private equity firm AE Industrial Partners on Monday said it has acquired a majority interest in NuWave Solutions, a small data analytics and artificial intelligence company serving the federal government and defense customers that will serve as a growth platform for AEI to build on.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. NuWave, which is based in Northern Virginia and also has an office in Columbia, Md., has 70 employees.
AEI also said that Reggie Brothers has been named CEO of NuWave and Michael Buscher has joined the company as chief growth officer, a new position. Brothers previously was chief technology officer at Peraton and during the Obama administration led the Science and Technology division of the Department of Homeland Security.
Buscher also previously was at Peraton, serving as the company’s vice president of Intelligence and Special Operations. He will focus on expanding NuWave’s reach to the defense and intelligence communities, AEI said.
NuWave has expertise in data management, analytics, artificial intelligence and cloud computing. AEI said the company will operate as a standalone business within its portfolio and will anchor a growing position in the data and analytics space.
“NuWave is a highly respected leader in its field, and a perfect launch pad in which to build a world-class advanced analytics and artificial intelligence platform,” Jeffrey Hart, a vice president at AEI, said in a statement. “Artificial intelligence and machine learning continue to gain significant momentum helping governments and businesses gain intelligence from their vast amounts of data to make better decisions. The end uses for these capabilities continue to evolve and we look forward to being at the forefront of this evolution with the NuWave team.”
As part of the leadership transition, Mark Keyser, co-founder of NuWave and the previous CEO, will reinvest in the company and remain as an adviser to the board of directors.
“With new financial and operational support from AEI, in addition to their strategic vision for the company, I believe NuWave is poised to accelerate its already impressive growth, as well as solidify its capabilities and reputation as a key player in the artificial intelligence and machine learning market,” Keyser said in a statement.
AEI’s financial adviser on the deal was Grant Thornton LLP and Conlin & Co. served as financial adviser to NuWave.