One year ago today, Black Knight Origination Technologies announced its rebirth as Dark Matter Technologies. With this change, we set out to not only revolutionize mortgage origination but also embrace a future of cutting-edge innovation. Over the past 12 months, we’ve made strides in product development, expanded our client roster, and positioned ourselves as leaders in the rapidly evolving AI/ML space. Today, we take a moment to celebrate how far we’ve come — and where we’re heading next.
We welcomed new faces (and a new HQ)
Dark Matter was born with an ambitious vision. By combining the urgency of a startup with the knowledge and maturity gained over many years as one of the industry’s top providers, we aimed to dramatically reimagine the mortgage lending process.
We knew it would take a very special group of leaders to turn that vision into reality, and we set about building our dream team almost at once. Significant executive additions during our first year included Chief Risk and Information Security Officer Mike Housch, Chief Product Officer Stephanie Durflinger, Chief of Client Engagement Tony Fox and Deputy Chief Product Officer Vikas Rao.
The grand opening of our new corporate headquarters in June gave these leaders the opportunity to convene with the rest of the Dark Matter team for a day of celebration and team building. Located in Jacksonville’s St. Johns Town Center neighborhood, our spacious office was designed to spark creativity and foster collaboration.
We made our clients priority number one
Over the last five years, we have grown the number of U.S. lenders using our technology solutions by 370% to include many of the most recognizable banks, credit unions and independent mortgage banks in the country. To ensure a smooth, uneventful transition for each of them, we made client success our top priority.
Our inaugural Horizon user conference played a big role in helping our clients and partners understand Dark Matter’s vision for the future. Held at Miami’s Fontainebleau resort, the two-day event rewarded attendees with compelling thought leadership, valuable networking opportunities and a preview of our product roadmap.
We also welcomed quite a few new clients to Dark Matter this year, including CUSO Home Lending, PEFCU, Patelco Credit Union, Monterra Credit Union and Truity Credit Union.
We found our voice as one of the industry’s leading AI/ML innovators
Becoming an independent company has freed Dark Matter to forge our own identity — one that honors our past even as it blazes a trail. And as proud as we are of our decades of industry experience, what really motivates us is the leadership position we’ve taken in mortgage innovation.
The last year has seen an explosion of interest in AI/ML, and through it all, we’ve been at the forefront of the conversation. That’s because at Dark Matter, artificial intelligence and machine learning are not theoretical concepts; they are applied disciplines we leverage every day to make mortgage lending more efficient and effective.
We’ve tackled this cutting-edge topic on our blog, in a new white paper, and in episodes of our podcast, The Spotlight. We made AI/ML a major focus at our Horizon user conference, and we’ve even taken our AI expertise on the road, showcasing our Aiva Assistants at HousingWire’s AI Demo Day and The Mortgage Collaborative’s Denver conference.
Rest assured we will continue to push the AI/ML envelope, so if you missed these events, be sure to connect with our team at the upcoming ACUMA and MBA annual conferences this fall.
We kept our foot on the gas of product innovation
Despite the flurry of activity these past twelve months, the Dark Matter product team has worked hard to deliver new features and partner integrations that add value for our lender clients.
In December, we leveled up our longstanding integration with DocMagic to make its fully compliant suite of document generation and eMortgage services available to users of the Empower LOS in the wholesale and home equity origination channels. The very next month, we rolled out a new workflow in collaboration with Fannie Mae and Informative Research that makes it easier for lenders to identify and qualify loan applicants who could benefit from evaluation of their positive rent payment history.
In April, we unveiled a highly anticipated integration between the Empower LOS and Total Expert’s all-in-one customer engagement platform. And in May, we became the first mortgage loan origination system to offer native support for mortgage assumptions, a feature of certain FHA, VA and USDA loans that is gaining popularity in today’s purchase mortgage market, where buyers often face interest rates that are higher than the seller’s existing rate.
We picked up several accolades along the way
We’re honored to have received quite a few meaningful industry recognitions during our first year in operation. It all started when Dark Matter made its debut on the HousingWire Tech 100 in February. Soon after, our Chief Financial Officer Bill Warden was recognized as one of Jacksonville’s top CFOs. Mike Housch, our chief risk and information security officer, was named one of the top 100 CISOs in North America before going on to receive the 2024 Housing Vanguard Award for his role in guiding Dark Matter’s information security vision and risk mitigation strategy.
Our CEO Rich Gagliano was hand-selected for the Best of Finance award by the Inman editorial team and was also recognized locally as one of Jacksonville’s Top 25 CEOs in any industry. Wes Horbatuck, our vice president of marketing, made HousingWire’s list of the 50 most creative and influential Marketing Leaders in housing finance for establishing and growing Dark Matter’s distinctive brand identity. And Craig Rebmann, our product evangelist, received the HousingWire Insiders Award for helping transform Empower into the most advanced and one of the most-used core origination technologies in the mortgage industry.
Here’s to another year
The foundation we’ve built in our first year is strong, and the momentum we’ve gained inspires us to continue innovating at every turn. With new product enhancements, strategic partnerships, and a relentless drive for excellence, Dark Matter is excited to embrace the challenges and opportunities of the coming year. We can’t wait to see where the next 365 days take us.