Protecht Acquires VISO TRUST, Wielding AI Against Third-Party Risk

SYDNEY – April 20, 2026 – Australian-based Protecht Group, a global leader in governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) solutions, today announced its acquisition of VISO TRUST, a US-based third-party risk management platform driven by artificial intelligence. The move signals a significant escalation in the race to arm enterprises against escalating supply chain and vendor-related cyber threats, combining Protecht's established enterprise risk management (ERM) framework with VISO TRUST's advanced AI capabilities.

This acquisition is a direct response to a critical vulnerability in modern business: the rapid expansion of third-party vendor ecosystems. While companies increasingly rely on external partners for essential services, their ability to manage the associated risks has not kept pace. The integration of VISO TRUST's technology into the Protecht platform aims to bridge this gap, offering a unified solution designed to automate and scale what has largely been a manual, fragmented, and time-consuming process.

The AI-Driven Overhaul of Enterprise Risk

The fundamental challenge facing risk management teams is one of scale and speed. According to a recent KPMG report, a staggering 83% of organizations plan to expand their third-party networks, yet a mere 18% have fully integrated vendor risk management into their core enterprise frameworks. This disparity leaves companies dangerously exposed, particularly as cybercriminals increasingly target vendors as a gateway into larger corporate networks.

“The challenge isn’t just the growth in third-party risk, it’s that most organisations are still trying to manage it with fragmented, manual approaches that don’t scale,” said Jason Phillips, CEO of Protecht. The acquisition directly targets this inefficiency.

VISO TRUST has built its reputation on leveraging what it calls 'agentic AI' to transform third-party risk management (TPRM). Instead of relying on periodic, static questionnaires and manual assessments, its platform automates the due diligence process. Research indicates that VISO TRUST’s AI-driven platform can reduce vendor assessment and onboarding times by up to 90%, cutting a process that could take weeks down to a matter of days. This is achieved through AI agents that automate GRC workflows, continuously monitor vendor networks for emerging threats, and provide data-driven insights for executive-level reporting.

“VISO TRUST’s agentic third-party risk capabilities naturally complement and enhance Protecht’s existing risk management platform to help customers confidently manage risk across their entire enterprise and vendor ecosystems,” Phillips added. The combined offering promises to deliver AI-powered vendor risk assessments that dramatically accelerate onboarding, freeing up security and compliance teams to focus on strategic risk mitigation rather than administrative tasks.

A Strategic Play in a Multi-Billion Dollar Market

Protecht's acquisition of VISO TRUST is more than a technological upgrade; it is a calculated strategic maneuver in a GRC market projected for explosive growth. Industry analysts forecast the market will expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.5%, reaching a valuation of US$41.7 billion by 2034. By acquiring a specialist in AI-powered TPRM, Protecht is positioning itself to capture a significant share of this expanding market.

This move is fueled by a substantial capital injection from a year ago. In March 2025, Protecht secured a US$280 million investment from PSG Equity, a growth equity firm that became its majority owner. That funding was earmarked specifically for accelerating global growth and product innovation. The acquisition of VISO TRUST, with its strong US presence and client roster including innovators like Instacart and Notion, demonstrates a swift execution of that strategy and significantly bolsters Protecht’s foothold in the critical North American market.

This strategic purchase allows Protecht, which already has offices in Sydney, Los Angeles, and London, to not only enhance its product but also to cross-sell a more comprehensive, AI-supercharged solution to a global client base that spans government, financial services, and education.

Closing the Gap on Supply Chain Vulnerabilities

For enterprise leaders, the most compelling aspect of this deal is its direct impact on closing a well-documented security gap. High-profile data breaches have repeatedly shown that an organization's security is only as strong as its weakest vendor link. The traditional approach of manual checks and spreadsheet-based tracking is no longer sufficient to manage the complex web of third-party and even fourth-party (a vendor's vendor) relationships.

Paul Valente, Co-founder and Chief Customer Officer of VISO TRUST, highlighted this exact pain point. “Enterprise organisations are expanding their third-party vendor networks while facing more sophisticated cyber threats through those same relationships. Yet, most are still managing that risk manually, and that gap is exactly the problem VISO TRUST was built to address,” he stated.

By integrating VISO TRUST, Protecht can now offer continuous monitoring across these complex vendor networks, providing real-time alerts and actionable intelligence. This allows businesses to move from a reactive to a proactive risk posture. The promise is a unified solution that provides the speed and insight to stay ahead of cyber threats without the need to increase headcount, a critical benefit in an era of tight budgets and a shortage of cybersecurity talent.

As part of the acquisition, both Paul Valente and his co-founder, Chief Technology Officer Russ Sherman, will remain with the business in their current roles. This ensures that the deep technical expertise and vision that made VISO TRUST a disruptive force will be central to the integrated company's future, providing crucial continuity for customers and the product roadmap. By joining forces, the two companies aim to deliver a truly differentiated platform that meets the market's urgent demand for intelligent, scalable, and unified risk management.