Why Investigative Intelligence Matters

Yoono CEO Richard Tavernor has spoken to Business Age about the growing need for deeper investigative intelligence, the limitations of conventional screening and the opportunity to transform how organisations make high-consequence decisions about people.

In the My Big Idea interview, Richard explains the gap Yoono was built to address: the space between automated screening and a full manual investigation.

The gap between screening and investigation

Traditional screening platforms are effective at checking names against sanctions, PEP, watchlists and adverse media databases. But when a case becomes more complex, higher risk or ambiguous, considerably more work is required.

Analysts may spend hours or days searching corporate records, court documents, regulatory actions, news sources, social media and other public information. They then need to establish whether the information relates to the right individual, understand the wider context and produce an output that can be reviewed and defended.

At the other end of the market, specialist intelligence firms can carry out detailed manual investigations, but these can be both expensive and slow.

Yoono sits between these two approaches.

Using AI, the platform searches and analyses information from a wide range of public sources, connecting fragmented intelligence and producing detailed, structured and audit-ready reports.

As Richard explains:

“We are not trying to replace professional judgement.”

Instead, Yoono is designed to give professionals a stronger intelligence foundation from which to exercise it.

The value is already measurable

Yoono is commercially live and being used across regulated financial services, professional services and other high-trust environments.

The focus has moved beyond proving whether the technology works. It is now about demonstrating measurable value within real customer workflows and scaling that value commercially.

Early customer results show the potential.

In one case, Yoono saved around five days of research. In another, a customer estimated a saving of approximately £30,000 compared with commissioning equivalent work from a traditional intelligence bureau.

The economics are straightforward. Highly trained investigators and compliance professionals can spend significant amounts of time gathering, checking and organising information before they are able to apply their expertise. Reducing that workload while improving consistency and auditability creates value both in time saved and in the quality of the investigative process.

Evidence before claims

For regulated organisations, adopting new technology cannot be based on broad claims about AI.

Richard explains that buyers want to understand what the platform finds, how conclusions have been reached and how the intelligence can improve their existing processes.

That is why demonstrations, real-world evaluations and customer evidence form an important part of Yoono’s approach.

The question is not simply whether the technology is impressive. It is whether it can identify relevant intelligence, save meaningful time and produce outputs that can be used in real decision-making.

Built in Jersey. Designed for international markets.

Yoono is initially building from Jersey, with a focus on regulated and high-consequence markets across the UK, Crown Dependencies and Luxembourg.

Jersey offers a sophisticated financial services industry, a strong professional community and access to senior decision makers, providing an environment in which Yoono can work closely with customers and develop the platform around genuine market needs.

The longer-term opportunity extends much further.

Richard sees applications for investigative intelligence across financial services, investment, professional services, government, law enforcement, defence, critical infrastructure and other sectors where understanding individuals and their wider networks matters.

Read Richard Tavernor’s full My Big Idea interview on Business Age.