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4 | TH E M R EP O RT MTECH Machine Learning Leads the Way BLACK KNIGHT ANNOUNCES ACQUISITION OF HEAVYWATER TO ADVANCE AI AND ML. B lack Knight Inc. an- nounced the acquisition of HeavyWater, an artificial- intelligence and machine- learning (AI/ML) provider for the financial services industry, through its custom-solution called AIVA. While it will initially be used as a platform to improve efficiencies in origina- tions, Black Knight is looking at integrating its capabilities on the servicing side, too. "We believe that AIVA will be an enterprise solution. Though we're initially focusing on the orig- ination side, we absolutely foresee AIVA being leveraged across our originations technology business, our servicing technology busi- ness, as well as our DNA group," Rich Gagliano, President, Black Knight Originations Technologies Division, told DS News. Black Knight has already started rolling out the solution for its clients and plans to integrate AIVA over the next couple of months. The company has said that AIVA would be integrated into its premier solutions and also make the technology available to clients looking to deploy AI/ ML within other parts of their organization to enhance efficiency, effectiveness, and accuracy. "With the cost of origination and servicing at, or near, all-time highs, AIVA is poised to help in- crease efficiencies for Black Knight clients," Anthony Jabbour, CEO, Black Knight said. "AI/ML and neural network solutions are the future of delivering enhanced pro- ductivity and capabilities to our clients, and we are very excited about the potential HeavyWater has to offer." HeavyWater's AIVA solution leverages AI/ML to perform op- erational functions more efficiently and effectively than traditional methods by reading, comprehend- ing, and drawing conclusions based on context to mimic cogni- tive thinking. "The focus of HeavyWater and their expertise in AI/ML is the ability to take more mundane operations and use machine learn- ing to extract information and assist the operations of underwrit- ers, loan processors, and closers to move those components of the loan-processing task along signifi- cantly faster," Gagliano said. The Philadelphia-based HeavyWater has been providing AIVA to help lenders with tra- ditionally manual activities such as verifying income, assets, and insurance coverage. Black Knight said that clients benefited from the accelerated processes and reduced expenses as AIVA gained experience and manual routines were automated. "Our focus has always been on pioneering research in machine learning and artificial intelligence and applying it to the financial services industry," said Soofi Safavi, CEO of HeavyWater. "By using sophisticated neural net- works and 'contextual knowledge' to continuously improve AIVA's learning and performance, we've helped our clients save money, increase efficiencies, and reduce turn time." Lending Reimagined HYLAND LAUNCHES DIGITAL TOOL FOR FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS. H yland, an Ohio-based content services provider for the financial services industry, has announced the launch of Brainware for Lend- ing, an intelligent-capture solu- tion that accurately captures and classifies loan documents and integrates with the line of busi- ness tools to validate extracted data and fill in missing informa- tion before delivering data to loan-origination systems. In a statement, Hyland said that by delivering greater transparency, lending institutions can process loans faster with fewer resources and improve interactions with borrowers. As the lending industry be- comes increasingly complex, banks, lenders, and loan servicers experi- ence higher demand from custom- ers for fast lending experiences. At the same time, financial institutions have a greater focus on managing regulatory require- ments, which increase per-loan costs and slow processing times. "Brainware intelligent capture is an advanced technology that will fundamentally shift the way finan- cial institutions process and service loans," Steve Comer, Director of Arming the Industry These new tools and tech are ensuring a smooth process throughout the mortgage lifecycle.