Brian Utley, former CEO of Periscope Holdings, a public sector e-procurement company, joins Thentia as CEO effective immediately. His former COO, Chris Kennedy, joins Thentia as Senior Advisor for Operations.
Thentia, a leading innovator in regulatory technology, announced today that it has closed a $10 million Series B extension round. The fundraise, led by existing investors including First Ascent Ventures, Spring Mountain Capital, BDC Capital, and CayCan, reflects a continued commitment to Thentia’s vision. The funds will be strategically utilized to scale operations, propel accelerated growth, invest in artificial intelligence, and enhance Thentia’s ability to meet the evolving needs of its rapidly expanding client base.
“We are thrilled to welcome industry veteran, Brian Utley as our new CEO and Chris Kennedy as senior operations advisor and we look forward to continuing our support for Thentia with this latest investment and expansion of the executive team. The remarkable strides they’ve made, coupled with their unwavering dedication to innovation in the government technology space, solidify our confidence in their inevitable global prominence,” says Richard Black, Managing Partner, First Ascent Ventures. “As existing investors, we remain excited about the impressive momentum they have gained, and we look forward to witnessing their continued success in shaping the future of government technology and regulation,” Black adds.
“Thentia’s cutting-edge platform stands as a cornerstone for government agencies embarking on the journey of digital transformation. By seamlessly transitioning processes into the 21st century, Thentia empowers organizations to elevate user experiences for citizens while delivering indispensable data crucial for informed decision-making. These strides signify a pivotal shift in advancing government capabilities,” says Jamie Weston, Managing Director of Spring Mountain Capital. “We welcome the addition of Brian Utley, the former CEO of Periscope, a great success in state level procurement cloud services.”
“Thentia has brought together an exceptional group of leaders and subject matter experts who grasp the unique challenges facing regulators” says Mark Smith, Partner of BDC Capital’s Industrial, Clean and Energy Technology (ICE) Venture Fund, which has been an investor in the business since 2020. “Their differentiated expertise is what truly sets them apart and has enabled them to develop a platform that addresses key regulatory functions, and positions Thentia as a leader in the regulatory licensing category.”
Designed for regulators, by regulators, Thentia’s end-to-end SaaS ERP platform, Thentia Cloud, adeptly digitizes, streamlines, and consolidates all essential regulatory functions within a single and secure cloud-based environment. Empowering regulators with a comprehensive 360-degree view of all licensee activities, the platform facilitates a shift from suboptimal and inefficient processes to a modern, streamlined approach, elevating their ability to fulfill their paramount duty of safeguarding the public. Customers of the platform have demonstrated manifold improvements in their ability to regulate effectively and efficiently.
Trusted by millions of licensed professionals, businesses, and entities globally, Thentia has gained recognition from regulators worldwide for its unmatched blend of technological innovation and regulatory proficiency.
“Looking ahead in 2025, we are committed to the success of our users and will ensure that they have the very best level of services from Thentia that are reliable and cutting edge. We are poised to unveil an array of innovations that promise to redefine the industry landscape. We will provide leadership into transforming single agency deployments into statewide interactive services that will change the way we operate and lead us into a new era of excellence and innovation.”
CEO, Thentia
“I am grateful for the support of our investors who have played a pivotal role in our journey. Together, we will ensure that our regulatory platform sets the standard for service and reliability. Our future innovations and thought leadership will become a leading force in enabling regulators to stay a step ahead with the rapidly evolving technology landscape,” says Brian Utley, CEO, Thentia. As Thentia charts its course for continued growth, the company stands resolute in its dedication to excellence and the ongoing innovation of its platform that is committed to supporting regulators in their mission of public protection. Moving forward, Thentia will strategically allocate the recently secured funds to drive improved reliability and uptime for all of our users, increase our communications with our users, and provide thought leadership for the challenges that all regulators will face in the future.”
About Thentia
Thoughtfully built for regulators, by regulators, Thentia is driving regulatory transformation for hundreds of regulators and regulatory agencies worldwide with a platform that handles all key department functions including licensing, investigations, enforcement, fitness to practice, quality assurance, scope of practice, continuing education, board management, data analysis, and more. Thentia Cloud empowers regulators to transcend the constraints of legacy processes, custom-built solutions, and a web of disparate applications with a single unified 360-degree platform, setting new standards in efficiency and effectiveness. Thentia Cloud is available on major cloud providers. For more information, visit thentia.com.
About First Ascent Ventures
First Ascent Ventures invests in early-stage, emerging, and growth-oriented enterprise software companies in the information technology sector. The First Ascent Ventures team bring deep bench strength as operating executives and investors having built and invested in significant, global enterprise software companies.
About Spring Mountain Capital
Spring Mountain Capital is a New York-based investment management firm with $1.7 billion of assets under management that focuses on alternative asset investing. The SMC Growth equity team focuses on providing expansion capital to companies capitalizing on breakthrough innovations, paradigm shifts, or fundamental market or behavioral changes. SMC invests in two sectors of the U.S. economy undergoing the most change and with the highest growth potential: enterprise technology and healthcare companies..
For more information, visit: smcgrowthcapital.com.
About BDC Capital
BDC Capital is the investment arm of BDC, Canada’s bank for entrepreneurs. With over $6 billion under management, BDC Capital serves as a strategic partner to the country’s most innovative firms. It offers businesses a full spectrum of capital, from seed investments to growth equity as well as ownership transition solutions, supporting Canadian entrepreneurs who have the ambition to stand out on the world stage. Visit bdc.ca/capital.
About Brian Utley, CEO of Thentia
Brian Utley is a government technology solutions veteran. He has had a variety of roles in his career ranging from government positions to executive positions within the government technology industry as well as the financial industry. Brian Utley is a partner at AV Capital, he serves as Board Chair at government technology company TrueRoll, of which he led the recapitalization in 2022. Brian was the Founder and CEO of Periscope Holdings, the leading purpose-built provider of procurement technology solutions to the public sector. Brian led the acquisition of the three companies that were combined to form Periscope Holdings, Inc and then in 2014, he led the recapitalization of the company with Parthenon Capital Partners and acquired a competitor. Periscope was sold in 2021 to mdf commerce.
Brian has over 15 years of experience in business acquisitions, public affairs, public relations, strategy consulting, marketing, and procurement consulting. Prior to Periscope, Brian served as Special Assistant to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts and as Political Director for Texans for John Sharp. As a Director at Temerlin McClain Advertising, he worked with various companies and political organizations forming and implementing their communication objectives.
Brian proudly grew up in the small town of Temple, Texas where he learned the values of hard work and honesty. He married his wonderful and better half Beth shortly after college. They have four incredible kids and one awesome grandson. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his family, playing golf, working out, and supporting his Texas Longhorns. Brian is also extremely active in the community, including serving on the Board of the Busby Foundation, a Lifetime Honorary Board Member of the Dallas Neurofibromatosis Foundation, a 16 year member of Young Presidents Organization, and former President of Austin Country Club.
About Chris Kennedy, Senior Advisor, Operations, Thentia
Chris Kennedy is a government technology solutions veteran. He has had a variety of roles in his career ranging from government positions to executive positions within the government technology as well as the financial industry.
Chris is the founder and managing director of Flyline, a strategic operations consulting firm serving companies undergoing fundamental change, including M&A transformation.
For 17 years, Chris managed service delivery and served as COO of Periscope Holdings, a leading gov-tech firm, through founder-led growth, private equity investment, and M&A integration. He led the operations of the company through a 15x growth in revenue and 400% growth in headcount. In 2021, Periscope was sold to mdf commerce, a Canadian publicly traded company. Chris was named as one of “21 Most Impressive & Successful COOs in the GovTech Space” by COO (Boardroom Media) in 2022.
Chris has worked with public and private entities, ranging from organizations as small as 20 employees to tens of thousands of employees. His specialty is leading organizations through operational transformation resulting from mergers and acquisitions, corporate carveouts, new business/program initiatives, and major technology changes.
Chris graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science from Trinity University, and a Master of Public Affairs/Master of Arts in Latin American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin.
