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Rep Data Acquires Research Defender

Forms One-Stop-Shop for Research Sampling and Data Fraud Prevention


NEW ORLEANS – October 5, 2023 – As a result of its tremendous growth and Series A funding, Rep Data, a full-service data collection firm for quantitative primary research, has announced today its acquisition of prominent research technology firm Research Defender. The acquisition combines the talents of both companies and will create a one-stop shop for research sampling and data fraud prevention technology for the research industry.

Rep Data has seen tremendous growth since its founding in 2020, with year-over-year revenue growth of 140 percent, growing its team to 60 people and serving more than 400 clients globally. The company most recently secured $6.5 million in Series A funding in November 2022, accelerating the company’s core vision of improving respondent data quality and furthering its vision of making the market research process more efficient, accurate, and reliable.

“Our acquisition of Research Defender is happening at a time when our industry is struggling with research data quality,” said Patrick Stokes, Rep Data’s Founder & CEO. “As AI and other threats continue to infiltrate research, our goal will always be to stay ahead of it, react quickly, and safeguard primary research data from current and future threats. We’ve been partnering with Research Defender to do exactly this since 2020. Our shared cultures, vision, and dedication to delivering the highest quality data make this acquisition the perfect next step along our growth journey.”

As the only independent technology provider that is actively building APIs to benefit both sample buyers and sellers, Research Defender has developed a suite of products that prevent sample fraud and duplication, exclude professional survey respondents, analyze open-ended responses in real-time for various negative attributes, and prevent known bad actors from joining panels.

“Through a long history of intersecting careers and relationships, it was clear our teams had similar visions for where our industry needed to go,” said Vignesh Krishnan, formerly Research Defender’s Founder & CEO. “We are excited for the future of data quality as we combine our resources, thinking, and capabilities with the Rep Data team.”

As a result of the acquisition, Krishnan will now serve as Rep Data’s Chief Technology Officer. Matt Gershner, previously Research Defender’s Chief Strategy and Revenue Officer, will transition to Rep Data’s Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer. Dan Fletcher, formerly Research Defender’s Vice President of Operations, will transition to Rep Data’s Vice President of Client Success.