Company:Tungsten Automation
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Computer software |
| Founded | 1985 |
| Founders | David Silver, Dean Hough |
| Headquarters | Irvine, California |
Key people | Peter Hantman (CEO) |
| Products | Intelligent automation, cognitive capture, robotic process automation, business process orchestration, data integration, customer communications management, analytics, print management |
| Revenue | |
| Owner |
|
Number of employees | 2,200 (2024)[1] |
| Website | www |
Tungsten Automation, formerly Kofax Inc., is an Irvine, California-based intelligent automation software provider. Founded in 1985, the company's software allows businesses to automate and improve business workflows by simplifying the handling of data and documents.[2]
From 2017 to 2022, the company was an independent portfolio company owned by private equity firm Thoma Bravo.[3] In 2022, Clearlake Capital and TA Associates completed their acquisition of the company.[4]
History
Tungsten Automation was founded in 1985 as Kofax Image Products by engineers Dean Hough and David Silver, who worked together at document processing company FileNet.[5] Silver became the company's chief executive officer and president.[6] The company initially focused on making personal computer circuit boards to convert them into image-processing machines, and its first products were released in 1989.[5]
In the 1990s, the company continued to develop its core image processing technology.[7]
In October 1997, the company went public on the Nasdaq market.[8]
In July 1999, the company announced it would be purchased by UK-based holding company DICOM Group in a reported US$75 million cash deal, with the intent to pair Kofax Image Products, Inc.’s digital capture technology with DICOM Group's distribution services in Europe.[7]
In July 2000, CEO and President Silver stepped down and was succeeded by Arnold von Büren, former deputy chief executive officer of Dicom.[6]
In 2002, Rick Murphy was named CEO of Kofax, and von Büren was promoted to CEO of Dicom Group.[9]
In April 2003, Kofax acquired Mohomine Inc., an automated text classification and extraction developer.[10]
In December 2005, Dicom Group / Kofax Inc. appointed Rob Klatell as CEO of Dicom.[11]
In November 2007, then CEO Rob Klatell was replaced by Reynolds Bish, former CEO of Captiva Software, now part of OpenText.[9]
In January 2008, the company renamed Kofax Image Products, Inc. and Dicom Group as Kofax Inc.[12]
In May 2011, Kofax Inc. announced the acquisition of Atalasoft Inc., an image software company whose primary product was a document imaging toolkit named dotImage.[13] In December, Kofax Inc.’s US$48 million bid to purchase London IT company Singularity was accepted.[14] This acquisition enabled business process management (BPM) and case management software to exist through public or private SaaS (software as a service) platforms.[15]
In the summer of 2013, Kofax added robotic process automation (RPA) developer Kapow Software (now: Kofax RPA). In December, Kofax Inc. was added to the Nasdaq Stock Market as (KFX).[16]
In September 2014, Kofax acquired Softpro, an e-signature and signature verification software company in Stuttgart, Germany, as a separate entity.[17]
In March 2015, Kofax Inc. purchased Aia Holding, a customer communications management company in The Netherlands, in a US$19.5 million cash deal.[18] Also in March, the company introduced Mobile ID, image validation software for capturing proof-of-identity documents required for secure processes such as opening bank accounts.[18]
On March 24, 2015, Lexmark International, Inc. and Kofax Inc. entered into a merger agreement. Lexmark acquired outstanding shares of Kofax Inc. for US$11 per share, or approximately US$1 billion.[19][20] After the acquisition closed, Kofax Inc. combined with Perceptive Software, a subsidiary of Lexmark, to form an expanded business content and management software unit of their parent company.[20] Kofax Inc. ended the 2015 fiscal year with US$297 million in revenue.[20]
In the spring of 2016, Lexmark and its subsidiaries were acquired by an investment consortium led by Apex Technology Co. and PAG Asia Capital. The purchase was valued at US$3.6 billion.[21]
In July 2017, private equity and growth capital firm Thoma Bravo acquired Lexmark's Enterprise Software business which consisted of three entities: Kofax, ReadSoft, and Perceptive Software.[22] Following this, Kofax and ReadSoft combined into a single, newly independent Thoma Bravo portfolio company.[22]
In November 2018, Kofax announced it was acquiring the Document Imaging Division of Nuance Communications.[23] By means of this acquisition, Kofax gained Nuance's Power PDF, PaperPort document management and OmniPage optical character recognition software applications.
In May 2019, Kofax acquired Top Image Systems (NASDAQ:TISA)(TIS).[24]
In June 2021, Kofax announced the acquisition of PSIGEN Software, Inc., a provider of document capture, content management and workflow automation software and solutions.[25] In August, the company announced the acquisition of cloud-based print management system provider Printix.net.[26]
In July 2022, Clearlake Capital and TA Associates completed their acquisition of the company from Thoma Bravo.[27]
On January 16, 2024, Kofax was renamed to Tungsten Automation.[28]
On July 1, 2025, Peter Hantman was appointed to CEO.[29]
Products
Tungsten Automation develops intelligent automation software for businesses, for applications ranging from print management, to process automation and document/pdf management.[23] Its products are grouped into four categories: Intelligent Automation Platform; Finance & Accounting; Capture & Print; and Desktop Productivity.
The company's Intelligent Automation Platform supports digital workflows and includes the following components:
- TotalAgility, a workflow orchestration software within the Intelligent Automation Platform that includes low-code, document intelligence, process orchestration, and connected systems capabilities to improve business processes[30]
- RPA, robotic process automation software that allows code-free automation of labor-intensive, multi-step tasks across systems and data sources[31]
- SignDoc, e-signature software that verifies electronic signatures for document workflows[32]
The company's Finance & Accounting group develops an Accounts Payable (AP) Automation Platform which includes the following:
- AP Agility, artificial intelligence-enabled accounts payable software, used to simplify internal business processes[33]
- AP Essentials (formerly ReadSoft Online) invoice processing software that automatically captures and validates invoice data from multiple formats[34]
- Invoice Portal, an online portal for electronic invoicing[citation needed]
The company's Capture & Print business area develops software to support print-centric business processes, including the following:
- ControlSuite, print management, capture and document security software[35]
- AutoStore, software for automated and compliant document capture[36]
- Capture, software for processing and integrating content directly into a business's workflow from any location[36][37]
The company's Desktop Productivity software includes a variety of software for managing documents. Desktop Productivity products include:
- Power PDF, software for creating, converting, editing, sharing and e-signing PDF files.[38]
- PaperPort, software for scanning, storing and managing documents
Operations
Tungsten Automation is headquartered in Irvine, California.[2] As of 2024, it had approximately 2,200 employees in 32 countries around the world.[1] Specialized industries include healthcare, insurance, transportation & logistics, government, finance & accounting and business process management. Customers and partners include Xerox, HP Inc., Canon Inc., Samsung, Visa Inc. and The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi.[23][39][40]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "A New Chapter Begins: Kofax is now Tungsten Automation". January 16, 2024. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240112086426/en/A-New-Chapter-Begins-Kofax-is-now-Tungsten-Automation.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Kofax CEO Explains $400M Document Imaging Buy". November 26, 2018. https://www.ocbj.com/news/2018/nov/26/kofax-ceo-explains-400m-document-imaging-buy/.
- ↑ "Lexmark's Lenexa operations trade hands — again". May 3, 2017. https://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/news/2017/05/03/lexmark-perceptive-software.html.
- ↑ "Clearlake Capital and TA Associates to Acquire Kofax, a Provider of Intelligent Automation Software, from Thoma Bravo". https://www.ta.com/news/clearlake-capital-and-ta-associates-to-acquire-kofax-a-provider-of-intelligent-automation-software-from-thoma-bravo/.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "One Executive's Spinoff Begat Second Venture : Technology: After an industry veteran built his own computer company, two of his workers found a non-competitive application for a business.". LA Times. August 18, 1991. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-08-18-fi-1607-story.html.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Silver Will Step Down as Kofax Officer". LA Times. June 2, 2000. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-jun-02-fi-36522-story.html.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Kofax acquired by international investment group". July 30, 1999. https://www.kmworld.com/Articles/News/News/Kofax-acquired-by-international-investment-group-12155.aspx.
- ↑ "Kofax Completes Initial Offering". LA Times. October 19, 1997. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-oct-19-fi-44409-story.html.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Dicom Turns To Bish". November 16, 2007. https://www.info-source.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/DIR-11-16-07.pdf.
- ↑ "Kofax Buys Text Classification, Extraction Developer". April 9, 2003. https://www.eweek.com/networking/kofax-buys-text-classification-extraction-developer/.
- ↑ Gammon, Ralph (November 3, 2006). "Dicom Strives To Improve Market Focus". https://www.fujitsu.com/us/Images/dir_110306.pdf.
- ↑ "Electronic data company consolidates under one name, Kofax, of Irvine". February 22, 2008. https://www.ocregister.com/2008/02/22/electronic-data-company-consolidates-under-one-name-kofax-of-irvine/.
- ↑ "Kofax Limited.". UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION.. 2013. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1556884/000119312513451469/d486137df1a.htm. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
- ↑ "US takeover for Londonderry IT firm Singularity.". BBC News.. December 6, 2011. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-16050372. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
- ↑ "Kofax Acquires Singularity; Unifies Document Capture and BPM for On-Premise, Cloud.". Integration Developer News.. 2018. http://www.idevnews.com/stories/4972/Kofax-Acquires-Singularity-Unifies-Document-Capture-and-BPM-for-On-Premise-Cloud. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
- ↑ "KOFAX LTD (KFX) IPO.". NASDAQ.. 2018. https://www.nasdaq.com/markets/ipos/company/kofax-ltd-917125-73653. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
- ↑ "Kofax Acquires German E-Signature Company". Orange County Business Journal. September 2, 2014. https://www.ocbj.com/news/2014/sep/02/kofax-acquires-german-e-signature-company/. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 "Consumers are finally ready for paperless transactions. Are you?". Fortune.. March 12, 2015. http://fortune.com/2015/03/12/paperless-transactions/. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
- ↑ "Lexmark to Acquire Kofax.". SEC GOV.. March 24, 2015. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1556884/000119312515103323/d895651dex991.htm. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 "Perceptive Software's owner makes $1 billion acquisition.". The Kansas City Star.. March 24, 2015. http://www.kansascity.com/news/business/article16207247.html. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
- ↑ "Lexmark to Be Bought by Apex, PAG Asia in $3.6 Billion Deal.". Bloomberg. April 19, 2016. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-19/lexmark-to-be-acquired-by-apex-pag-asia-in-3-6-billion-deal. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 "Thoma Bravo to Acquire Lexmark's Kofax". Finovate. May 8, 2017. http://finovate.com/thoma-bravo-acquire-lexmarks-kofax/. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 "Kofax CEO Explains $400M Document Imaging Buy". Orange County Business Journal. November 26, 2018. https://www.ocbj.com/news/2018/nov/26/kofax-ceo-explains-400m-document-imaging-buy/. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
- ↑ Penn, David (2019-02-05). "Kofax Agrees to Acquire Top Image Systems" (in en-US). https://finovate.com/kofax-agrees-to-acquire-top-image-systems/.
- ↑ "Kofax Acquires PSIGEN" (in en). November 9, 2021. https://www.ocbj.com/news/2021/jun/02/kofax-buys-psigen/.
- ↑ "Kofax Acquires Print Management Software Provider Printix.net". November 9, 2021. https://www.pymnts.com/news/b2b-payments/2021/kofax-acquires-print-management-software-provider-printix-net/.
- ↑ "Thoma Brava completes sale of software firm Kofax to Clearlake and TA". PE Hub. July 25, 2022. https://www.pehub.com/thoma-bravo-completes-sale-of-software-firm-kofax-to-clearlake-and-ta/. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
- ↑ "Kofax rebrands as Tungsten Automation to reflect its AI-powered workflow automation focus" (in en-US). 2024-01-19. https://www.kmworld.com/Articles/News/News/Kofax-rebrands-as-Tungsten-Automation-to-reflect-its-AI-powered-workflow-automation-focus-162246.aspx#:~:text=Kofax%20is%20rebranding%20itself%20as,built%20to%20deliver%20unparalleled%20innovation..
- ↑ "Tungsten Automation Appoints Peter Hantman as Chief Executive Officer". Jul 7, 2025. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250707586615/en/Tungsten-Automation-Appoints-Peter-Hantman-as-Chief-Executive-Officer.
- ↑ "Kofax expands low-code capabilities within TotalAgility". June 4, 2021. https://www.kmworld.com/Articles/News/News/Kofax-expands-low-code-capabilities-within-TotalAgility-147238.aspx.
- ↑ "Kofax, ImageTech Partnership Uses Intelligent Automation To Expedite COVID-19 Relief". June 23, 2020. https://www.idevnews.com/stories/7373/Kofax-ImageTech-Partnership-Uses-Intelligent-Automation-To-Expedite-COVID-19-Relief.
- ↑ "Kofax Simplifies E-Signature Capture, Processing". July 9, 2020. https://www.cmswire.com/cms/document-management/kofax-simplifies-esignature-capture-processing-027683.php.
- ↑ "Kofax Rolls Out New Version of AP Agility Software". April 13, 2021. https://www.pymnts.com/accounts-payable/2021/kofax-rolls-out-new-version-of-ap-agility-software/.
- ↑ "Kofax, Microsoft Team On Enhancing AP Automation". July 9, 2020. https://www.pymnts.com/news/b2b-payments/2021/kofax-microsoft-team-enhancing-accounts-payable-automation/.
- ↑ "Brother and Kofax partner to offer unified solution" (in en). March 27, 2020. https://www.kmworld.com/Articles/News/News/Brother-and-Kofax-partner-to-offer-unified-solution-139971.aspx.
- ↑ 36.0 36.1 Taulli, Tom (28 February 2020). The Robotic Process Automation Handbook: A Guide to Implementing RPA Systems. Apress. p. 249. ISBN 9781484257296. https://books.google.com/books?id=gZHTDwAAQBAJ&dq=kofax+autostore&pg=PA249.
- ↑ "Kofax Chief Bish Embraces Work-From-Home Concept". March 12, 2020. https://www.oit.va.gov/Services/TRM/ToolPage.aspx?tid=6763.
- ↑ "VA Technical Reference Model v 21.11". August 21, 2018. https://www.pcworld.com/article/3294702/nuance-power-pdf-advanced-3-review.html.
- ↑ "Kofax, Visa Cut B2B Payments Deal". PYMNTS. November 5, 2014. https://www.pymnts.com/news/2014/kofax-visa-cut-b2b-payments-deal/. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
- ↑ "Tokyo-headquartered bank adopts RPA technology". KM World. February 26, 2018. http://www.kmworld.com/Articles/News/KM-In-Practice/Tokyo-headquartered-bank-adopts-RPA-technology-123413.aspx. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
