Enlightenment Capital invests in key federal software partner

Chevy Chase investment firm Enlightenment Capital said Thursday it had made an investment in Summit Technology Group, a software platform provider for federal agencies, commercial financial institutions and enterprise customers.

Terms of the investment were not disclosed. Devin Talbott, founder and managing partner of Enlightenment, said in a statement STG will “serve as the foundation” of his firm’s government and regulatory software solutions platform. Enlightenment said it aims to accelerate STG’s product distribution and strengthen support for its government and commercial clients.

“With Enlightenment’s support, we are accelerating our product development, expanding our support across government agencies and continuing our investments in the financial technology market,” STG CEO Ben Wallace said in a statement.

STG, based in Upper Allen Township, Pennsylvania, was a key technology partner in a cloud-based workflow platform that enabled government support efforts through the Covid-19 pandemic, including loan origination and forgiveness, grant management, disaster lending and economic assistance. Enlightenment said STC is currently deploying its platform in projects related to the Treasury Department’s Corporate Transparency Act, which requires many companies doing business in the United States to report information about the individuals who ultimately own or control them.

Its software-as-a-service platforms, which include identity assurance and fraud detection functions, have been deployed in more than 275 commercial banking institutions and in public sector programs.

“This partnership provides STG with the financial and strategic resources needed to continue innovating and building upon their software to bring greater efficiency and transparency to government and regulatory workflows,” Enlightenment Principal Thomas Young said in a statement.

Enlightenment has a track record of constructing companies in the aerospace, defense and government technology sectors and selling them off. Already this year, Enlightenment has assembled a space-focused platform Auria through a tie-up of four companies and a new cyber intelligence platform called RealmOne through the combination of another four companies.

In October 2022, Enlightenment closed its sale of signals intelligence firm EverWatch to McLean technology and management consulting giant Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. in a deal that valued the company at $440 million, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

Enlightenment formed EverWatch in October 2018 out of four previous companies to serve the defense and intelligence market and added to it with acquisitions.

In June 2022, Enlightenment closed a $540 million fund, its fourth overall and largest to date. Much like Enlightenment Capital’s previous funds, Fund IV’s focus is on investing in aerospace, defense, government and technology businesses.