Sells banks, fintechs and payment providers a cloud AML platform that uses unsupervised machine learning to flag anomalous transactions and customers, now with an agentic AI layer (Ray) that assembles investigation case files and drafts SAR narratives.
What is ThetaRay, and which banks use it?
ThetaRay, founded in 2012 in Israel and also based in New York, is a private AML software company backed by JVP and Portage, with about $160 million raised and no disclosed valuation. None of our 100 US banks is a named customer; its best-known bank client is Spain's Banco Santander (correspondent-banking AML since 2020), and its named US bank is IDB Bank of New York (2025). It says it serves over 100 institutions. Pricing is not published; contracts are quoted per institution.
Category
Founded
2012
Headquarters
Tel Aviv, Israel and New York, US
Ownership
Private; backed by JVP (whose founder Erel Margalit chairs ThetaRay) and Portage, which led a $57 million round in September 2023, with earlier investors including OurCrowd, Bank Hapoalim, General Electric, ABN AMRO and Benhamou Global Ventures. Total funding about $160 million; no valuation has been disclosed.[10][13][14][18][15]
Deployment
SaaS (cloud, hosted on Microsoft Azure; also listed on Azure Marketplace)
Pricing
Sales-led SaaS subscription, configured and quoted per institution · not published
Banks among the 120
0
- Founded in 2012 on research by Professor Amir Averbuch of Tel Aviv University and Ronald Coifman of Yale; it began in cybersecurity anomaly detection for industrial and financial clients before concentrating on anti-money laundering.
- Banco Santander signed in June 2020 to use ThetaRay's correspondent-banking AML solution on SWIFT, risk-indicator and KYC data, with rollout begun in Q4 2019; in 2024 ThetaRay said Santander UK deployed it to detect human trafficking in transactions.
- Raised a $57 million round led by Portage in September 2023, taking total funding to about $160 million; earlier backers include JVP, OurCrowd, Bank Hapoalim, General Electric and ABN AMRO. ThetaRay has not disclosed a valuation.
- Brad Levy, former CEO of Symphony and an 18-year Goldman Sachs veteran, became CEO in January 2026, replacing Peter Reynolds (CEO from June 2023); chairman Erel Margalit said Reynolds scaled revenue to 'tens of millions of dollars'.
- ThetaRay says it has more than 100 institutional customers and monitors more than $20 trillion in transactions (vendor-reported); named non-US customers include Mashreq Bank, ClearBank, Travelex Bank, I&M Group, Payoneer and Onafriq.
- Launched Ray, an agentic AI investigation suite built on Azure OpenAI Service, in January 2026; ThetaRay says it can cut manual investigation time by as much as 70% (vendor-reported).
- Pricing is not published; thetaray.com routes buyers to a discovery call, and its FastStart offer describes only 'monthly pricing tailored to your organization's business need'.
What does ThetaRay sell to banks?
| Product | What it does | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Theta Monitor (AI transaction monitoring)[1][4][9] | Ensemble machine-learning detection of unknown money-laundering typologies across domestic, cross-border and correspondent-banking payments; sold to fintechs as SONAR SaaS. | Generally available |
| Theta Clear (payment and customer screening)[1][5] | Real-time sanctions and watchlist screening of payments and customers, built on the Screena screening technology ThetaRay acquired in July 2024. | Generally available |
| Theta Score (customer risk assessment)[1] | Continuously updated customer risk scoring for onboarding, periodic review and enhanced due diligence. | Generally available |
| Ray (agentic AI investigation suite)[11][1] | AI agents in the ThetaRay Investigation Center that gather evidence, run counterparty, adverse-media and geolocation checks, write an audit-ready case file and answer analyst questions; launched January 27, 2026 on Azure OpenAI Service. | Generally available |
| Ray Case Manager and Regulatory Reporting[1][16] | Investigation center with explainable alerts, prioritisation and network analysis, plus SAR/STR filing pre-filled from the case for FinCEN, FinTRAC, goAML and other formats. | Generally available |
How much does ThetaRay cost?
How it is charged: Sales-led SaaS subscription, configured and quoted per institution.
ThetaRay does not publish a price list.
Pricing is not published; thetaray.com has no price list and directs buyers to book a discovery call. Its FastStart page describes 'configuration options and monthly pricing tailored to your organization's business need' without figures, and the Azure Marketplace listing gives no price.
Which banks use ThetaRay?
None of the 120 largest US banks covered on this site is publicly named as a ThetaRay customer as of Nov 3, 2026. Customers the company names are listed in the key points above.
Among the 120 largest US banks on this site, from sources that name the bank: the bank, ThetaRay or the press. Status is the furthest stage a source confirms.
What is ThetaRay AML platform (Theta Hub detection engines and Ray Hub agentic investigations)?
Detection engines for transaction monitoring (Theta Monitor), real-time payment screening (Theta Clear) and customer risk scoring (Theta Score), paired with Ray agents and a case manager that build case files, prioritise alerts and pre-fill SAR/STR filings; ThetaRay positions it as an overlay on a bank's existing systems.[1][11]
What has ThetaRay done, and when?
- Jul 7, 2026
Hires Santander's former financial-crime transformation lead[12]
Luis Pinedo, Group VP of Compliance at Santander for 16 years, joined as Chief Strategic Customers Officer to lead customer engagement and product strategy.
- Jan 27, 2026
Launches Ray agentic investigation suite[11]
ThetaRay launched Ray, AI agents that run AML investigations end to end and prepare audit-ready case files inside its Investigation Center, built on Azure OpenAI Service and Azure Kubernetes Service.
- Jan 21, 2026
Brad Levy named CEO[10]
Former Symphony CEO Brad Levy replaced Peter Reynolds, who stepped down for family reasons and became an adviser.
- Jun 25, 2025
I&M Group deploys ThetaRay across five countries[17]
I&M Group said it would deploy ThetaRay's AML platform, from onboarding and screening to transaction monitoring and reporting, in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda and Mauritius.
- Jan 29, 2025
IDB Bank of New York signs[7]
ThetaRay named IDB Bank, a New York private and commercial bank, as a transaction-monitoring customer and called the US a key growth market.
- Dec 10, 2024
GenAI financial crime suite with Microsoft[16]
ThetaRay integrated Azure OpenAI Service to add a generative-AI case manager for risk detection, investigation support, quality assurance and reporting.
- Jul 30, 2024
Acquires screening company Screena[5]
ThetaRay bought European sanctions-screening company Screena (terms undisclosed) and said it was used by over 100 financial institutions in more than 40 countries.
- Sep 5, 2023
- Jul 17, 2023
Joins Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider program[6]
ThetaRay listed SONAR on the Azure Marketplace and said more than 50 banks and fintechs used its Azure-hosted solution, naming Santander, Mashreq Bank, Travelex Bank and ClearBank.
- Nov 29, 2022
ClearBank moves AML monitoring to ThetaRay SONAR[9]
UK clearing bank ClearBank said it would run its AML monitoring on ThetaRay's cloud-native SONAR SaaS.
- Feb 14, 2022
Mashreq Bank selects ThetaRay[8]
Mashreq Bank of the UAE chose ThetaRay's transaction monitoring for correspondent banking, a deal both said followed the 2020 Abraham Accords.
- May 20, 2021
$31 million round and a move to the cloud[15]
ThetaRay raised $31 million, taking total funding above $90 million, to market a cloud version of its anomaly-detection products to organisations handling cross-border payments.
- Jun 3, 2020
Banco Santander signs for correspondent-banking AML[4]
Santander agreed to use ThetaRay's AML solution to analyse correspondent-banking SWIFT traffic, risk indicators and KYC data, with rollout begun in Q4 2019 and global implementation to follow.
- Jul 3, 2018
Raises over $30 million for money-laundering prevention[18]
A round of over $30 million brought total funding above $60 million, from investors including JVP, General Electric, Bank Hapoalim, OurCrowd and SVB; ThetaRay said it would expand in Europe, Asia and the US.
- Jul 29, 2014
$10 million round to build a US presence[19]
ThetaRay raised $10 million from investors including General Electric to set up business headquarters in the US.
- Jan 1, 2012
ThetaRay founded[19]
ThetaRay was founded in 2012 on research by Professor Amir Averbuch of Tel Aviv University and Ronald Coifman of Yale, initially detecting cyber threats for power plants, airlines and banks.
What do banks use ThetaRay for?
| Use | What it does | Status | Use case |
|---|---|---|---|
| AML transaction monitoring[4][1] | Unsupervised machine-learning detection of suspicious activity in retail, corporate and correspondent-banking payments, used by Santander on SWIFT traffic. | In production | AML / KYC |
| Sanctions and watchlist screening[5][1] | Real-time payment and customer screening against OFAC, EU, UN, PEP and internal lists, built on the acquired Screena technology. | In production | AML / KYC |
| Agentic AML investigations and SAR drafting[11][1] | Ray agents gather evidence, write case files and draft SAR narratives for analyst review. | In production | Generative & agentic AI |
| Explainable alerts for model validation[4][3] | Each alert carries the risk indicators and data lineage behind it; Santander cited full data-lineage access to trace how the algorithms reached a decision. | In production | Model risk management |
| Overlay on existing AML systems[1] | ThetaRay sells its detection as a layer on top of a bank's existing rules-based systems rather than a replacement. | In production | Third-party & vendor AI |
What has ThetaRay disclosed in numbers?
| Metric | Value | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Total funding raised | About $160 million, after a $57 million round led by Portage[13][14] | Sep 5, 2023 |
| Institutional customers (vendor-reported) | More than 100[5][2] | Jul 30, 2024 |
| Transactions monitored (vendor-reported) | More than $20 trillion annually[12] | Jul 7, 2026 |
| Revenue (chairman's statement) | 'Tens of millions of dollars' under CEO Peter Reynolds (2023-2026)[10] | Jan 21, 2026 |
| Florida retail bank results (vendor-reported, unnamed bank) | 45% fewer total alerts and 70% fewer false positives versus its legacy rules-based system[3] | Oct 30, 2026 |
| Ray investigation time saved (vendor-reported) | Manual investigation time reduced by as much as 70%[11] | Jan 27, 2026 |
“By working hand in hand with them, we were able to customize their solution for our specific use and we agreed on a roadmap with new functionalities that will come and enrich the project”[4]
Luis Pinedo · Global VP FCC Controls & Transformation, Santander · Jun 3, 2020
“The industry is reaching a tipping point, where AI is no longer optional but foundational.”[10]
Brad Levy · Incoming CEO, ThetaRay · Jan 21, 2026
“Most importantly, Ray was built so that every decision is traceable back to evidence.”[11]
David Shapiro · Regulatory Affairs Manager, ThetaRay · Jan 27, 2026
Who runs ThetaRay?
Which rules apply to a bank using ThetaRay?
| Authority | Why it matters here | Documents |
|---|---|---|
| FinCEN | ThetaRay's monitoring and screening produce the alerts and SAR drafts behind a bank's BSA/AML program; FinCEN's 2021 statement on model risk management for BSA/AML systems and its 2026 AML/CFT program proposal leave the program's effectiveness, and every SAR filed, with the bank. | 2021 BSA/AML Model Risk Management Statement 2026 AML/CFT Program Proposed Rule |
| OCC | A bank outsourcing transaction monitoring to ThetaRay's Azure-hosted SaaS takes on third-party risk under OCC Bulletin 2023-17, and its unsupervised detection models fall under the vendor-model expectations of OCC Bulletin 2026-13. | OCC Bulletin 2023-17 OCC Bulletin 2026-13 |
| Federal Reserve | ThetaRay's anomaly-detection models score customers and transactions, so a bank must inventory, validate and monitor them under SR 26-2; the Ray agentic investigation layer sits outside SR 26-2's scope and falls to the bank's broader risk management. | SR 26-2 |
Linked authorities have a page in the Regulation tracker; the others are named for completeness.
What should a bank note before buying ThetaRay?
Analysis by BankingNewsAI from the sources cited on this page. Observations, not advice or a recommendation.
01
Pricing is not published
ThetaRay quotes monthly subscriptions per institution; neither its site nor its Azure Marketplace listing shows figures.
02
No named customer among the 100 largest US banks
ThetaRay's public bank customers are mostly outside the US (Banco Santander, Mashreq, ClearBank, I&M); its named US bank, IDB Bank of New York, is not in our set, and its US case study (a Florida retail bank) does not name the bank.
03
Results are vendor-reported
The 45% alert cut, 70% false-positive cut and Ray's 70% time saving come from ThetaRay's own case studies and releases, measured against each client's prior system.
04
Leadership has changed twice since 2023
Co-founder Mark Gazit handed over to Peter Reynolds in June 2023, and Brad Levy replaced Reynolds in January 2026.
05
No valuation has been disclosed
ThetaRay's last announced round was $57 million in September 2023; its chairman said the valuation was higher than before but gave no figure.
What are the alternatives to ThetaRay?
ComplyAdvantage
AML screening, monitoring and payment screening on its own risk data (sanctions, PEPs, adverse media), with AI agents for alert review.
Hawk
AML transaction monitoring, sanctions and customer screening, fraud prevention and AI investigation agents for banks and payment firms.
NICE Actimize
Fraud, AML, sanctions screening, KYC, case management and trade surveillance software for banks, on X-Sight and Xceed platforms.
Quantexa
Decision Intelligence platform: entity resolution and network analytics for AML, KYC and fraud; Cloud AML SaaS for US mid-size banks.
SymphonyAI
Financial-crime software for banks: AML transaction monitoring, sanctions screening, KYC, payment fraud and AI investigation agents.
Silent Eight
AI agents that investigate and close sanctions, name-screening, adverse-media and transaction-monitoring alerts for banks.
How much does ThetaRay cost?
ThetaRay does not publish pricing. Its website routes buyers to a discovery call, and its FastStart offer describes configuration options and monthly pricing tailored to each organization without figures. Its Azure Marketplace listing for the SONAR AML product also gives no price, so banks compare it on quotes.
Which banks use ThetaRay?
None of the 100 largest US banks we track is publicly named as a ThetaRay customer. Its best-known bank client is Banco Santander, which signed in June 2020 to use ThetaRay for correspondent-banking AML, and Santander UK later used it to detect human trafficking. In the US it named IDB Bank of New York in January 2025. Other named users include Mashreq Bank, ClearBank and I&M Group.
Who owns ThetaRay?
ThetaRay is privately held. Its investors include JVP, whose founder Erel Margalit is ThetaRay's chairman, and Portage, which led a $57 million round in September 2023. Earlier backers include OurCrowd, Bank Hapoalim, General Electric and ABN AMRO. It has raised about $160 million in total and has not disclosed a valuation.
Is ThetaRay a bank or regulated?
No. ThetaRay is a software company that sells anti-money-laundering monitoring and screening to banks, fintechs and payment providers. It is not a bank. The banks using ThetaRay keep their own BSA/AML obligations, including filing suspicious activity reports, and oversee ThetaRay as a third-party vendor and its models under model-risk guidance.
What is ThetaRay Ray?
Ray is ThetaRay's agentic AI investigation suite, launched January 27, 2026 inside the ThetaRay Investigation Center. Its agents collect evidence, analyse counterparties and behaviour, check adverse media and write an audit-ready case file, while an assistant answers analyst questions. It runs on Azure OpenAI Service, and ThetaRay says it can cut manual investigation time by as much as 70%.
How does ThetaRay differ from rules-based AML systems?
ThetaRay uses unsupervised machine learning to flag transactions and customers that deviate from normal behaviour, rather than only fixed thresholds, and sells it as a layer on top of existing systems. In a 2026 case study ThetaRay says an unnamed Florida bank cut alerts by 45% against its legacy rules; that figure is vendor-reported.
- AI AML Transaction Monitoring & Sanctions Screening Software
- About Us
- How a Miami Bank Modernized Retail Banking AML with ThetaRay AI
- ThetaRay Provides Banco Santander With an Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Solution for Correspondent Banking
- ThetaRay Revolutionizes AI Financial Crime Detection with Screena Acquisition
- ThetaRay Earns Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider Status
- IDB Bank Partners with ThetaRay, Strengthening its Financial Crime Compliance with Cognitive AI Solution
- Mashreq Bank Chooses Thetaray Transaction Monitoring Solution for Correspondent Banking
- ClearBank Selects ThetaRay AI Monitoring Tech to Accelerate Business Growth
- ThetaRay Appoints Financial Markets Technology Leader Brad Levy as Chief Executive Officer
- ThetaRay Unveils Ray: An Agentic AI Investigation Suite Delivering Faster, More Consistent AML Investigations
- Santander Financial Crime Transformation Leader Joins ThetaRay to Drive Enterprise AI Adoption
- Financial crime detection outfit ThetaRay raises $57m
- ThetaRay nabs $57M for AI tools to fight money laundering
- ThetaRay moves to the cloud on $31 million fund raise
- ThetaRay partners Microsoft for GenAI financial crime detection suite
- I&M Bank tightens financial crime controls with ThetaRay
- Israel's ThetaRay raises over $30 million for money laundering prevention
- Cybersecurity firm ThetaRay raises $10M to develop a U.S. presence
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