Hodson PI

What Hodson PI does

Hodson PI, LLC (dba Hodson P.I. Investigative Solutions) is a California-based private investigations firm founded in 2003 by Justin D. Hodson. The firm provides a comprehensive suite of investigative services including surveillance, background checks, records research, locate investigations, social media investigations, insurance defense investigations, workers' compensation investigations, SIU investigations, process serving, and litigation support. It serves law firms, insurance carriers, municipalities, corporations, and individuals, with notable enterprise clients including GEICO, State Farm, Liberty Mutual, AIG, MetLife, Walmart, Honda, Volkswagen, Kaiser, and government entities in California.

The company's technology stack combines traditional field investigation with advanced digital tools: AI-powered facial recognition for image comparison, OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) platforms, deep and dark web investigation capabilities, Event Data Recorder (EDR) downloads for vehicle data extraction, and proprietary Court Ready Capture™ methodology using MD5 hashcodes and MHTML for court-admissible digital evidence preservation. Core services are organized into five pillars: Find & Verify, Monitor & Document, Defend & Support, Investigate & Recover, and Specialized & International.

Hodson PI operates on a usage-based revenue model with hourly billing for investigative services and transactional fees for process serving. The firm reaches customers through direct sales, a dedicated case submission portal, and inbound quote requests. It maintains 10 offices across California, Arizona, Colorado, Texas, and Rhode Island, with a team of 60+ investigators and annual revenue of $6M in 2023 projected to reach $8M in 2024. The company is bootstrapped and privately held by founder Justin D. Hodson.

Name

Hodson PI

Legal name

Hodson PI, LLC

Website

https://hodsonpi.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Hodson PI is a California-based private investigations firm providing surveillance, background checks, process serving, insurance defense investigations, and AI-enhanced digital investigation services to law firms, insurance carriers, corporations, government entities, and individuals across 10 US offices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Private Investigation Services

NAICS

Investigation and Personal Background Check Services (561611)

akta.pro primary industry

Fraud Investigations & Claims Support (Insurance/Financial) (BPAKAEAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Litigation Support & Expert Witness Services (BPAHALAG)

Keywords

• Private investigation services
• Insurance defense investigations
• Background check investigations
• Surveillance services
• Process serving

Headquarters

HQ city

Fullerton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices10 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Investigative Services - Hourly Billing: Core revenue from investigative services billed at hourly rates. Services include surveillance, background checks, locate investigations, social media investigations, insurance defense, and process serving.
2. Service of Process: Legal document delivery services with per-address and per-person pricing. Additional charges for appointment serves, surveillance-assisted service, and rush requests.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Hodson PI is a licensed private investigation firm providing surveillance, background checks, records research, locate investigations, social media investigations, insurance defense and SIU investigations, claims support, litigation support, process serving, due diligence, and specialized services such as AI facial recognition, OSINT, deep web investigations, EDR vehicle downloads, and cross-border international investigations. Investigations are delivered through a 60+ investigator team producing court-ready documentation for law firms, insurance carriers, municipalities, corporations, and individuals.

Product overview

Hodson PI is a premier private investigation firm offering a comprehensive suite of investigative services. The company provides a unified investigative platform that combines traditional surveillance, background checks, and process serving with advanced technology solutions including AI Facial Recognition, OSINT Technology, Deep Web Investigations, and EDR Vehicle Inspection services. Core service pillars include Find & Verify (background checks, records research, AI facial recognition), Monitor & Document (surveillance, social media investigations, court-ready capture), Defend & Support (insurance defense, SIU, claims services, litigation support, due diligence), Investigate & Recover (locate investigations, heir searches, vehicle locate, EDR inspections), and Specialized & International (OSINT, deep web, international solutions). The firm serves law firms, insurance carriers, municipalities, corporations, and individuals nationwide from offices across California, Arizona, Texas, Colorado, and Rhode Island.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Subrosa Surveillance
• Background Check Investigations
• Locate Investigations
• Social Media Investigations
• Records Research
• Process Serving
• Insurance Defense Investigations
• Litigation Support
• Due Diligence
• Claims Services
• Workers' Compensation Investigations
• SIU Investigations
• Medical Canvassing
• AI Facial Recognition
• OSINT Technology
• Deep Web Investigations
• EDR & Vehicle Inspection
• International Solutions

Quantifiable outcome

• 75% locate investigation success rate over 18 years
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers23 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability8 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Orange County Crime StoppersminorOthers · 23 November 2011Justin D. Hodson serves on the Board of Directors. The organization enables citizens to safely report criminal activity through anonymous crime tips, working with law enforcement to resolve and prevent crime.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Pinkerton: Pinkerton is a long-established national and international private investigation and security firm offering surveillance, background checks, insurance defense investigations, and corporate due diligence. It directly overlaps with Hodson PI's core service lines and target customer base of insurance carriers and corporations.
• T&M Protection Resources: T&M Protection Resources is a US private investigation and protective services firm providing surveillance, background checks, and corporate investigations. It is comparable to Hodson PI in service mix and enterprise customer orientation.
• Mintz Group: Mintz Group is a corporate investigations firm specializing in due diligence, background investigations, and asset tracing for law firms and corporations. Its service mix closely mirrors Hodson PI's due diligence and background check offerings for enterprise clients.
• J.S. Held: J.S. Held is a global consulting firm with a substantial investigations practice covering insurance claims, fraud, and forensic investigations. It overlaps with Hodson PI's insurance defense and SIU investigations services and serves similar insurance carrier clients.
• Guidepost Solutions: Guidepost Solutions is an investigations, security, and monitoring firm serving corporations, law firms, and government entities. It directly competes with Hodson PI across background investigations, surveillance, and litigation support engagements.

Broad incumbents

• Kroll: Kroll is a global risk and financial investigations consultancy serving corporations, law firms, and financial institutions. Its investigations practice spans due diligence, fraud, and litigation support, competing with Hodson PI for enterprise corporate and legal clients but operating at a much larger scale and broader scope.
• Securitas: Securitas is one of the world's largest security services companies offering guarding, electronic security, and corporate investigations. Its investigative services arm is a broad incumbent competitor to Hodson PI in the enterprise security and investigations market.
• Control Risks: Control Risks is a global risk consultancy providing corporate investigations, integrity due diligence, and security consulting. It serves a similar multinational corporate and legal clientele and overlaps with Hodson PI's due diligence and locate investigations offerings at the high end of the market.
• FTI Consulting: FTI Consulting is a global advisory firm with a forensic and litigation consulting practice that includes corporate investigations and insurance-related inquiries. It competes with Hodson PI for sophisticated corporate and legal clients but at materially larger engagement sizes.

Others

• LexisNexis Risk Solutions: LexisNexis Risk Solutions provides background check data, public records aggregation, and due diligence platforms that underpin parts of the investigations value chain. It is an enabling data and technology provider rather than a direct investigative services competitor to Hodson PI.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks2 records

Key highlights2 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/hodsonpi
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@hodsonpi
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hodsonpi
• Instagraminstagram.com/hodsonpi
• TikToktiktok.com/@hodsonpi

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hodson PI