Estonian identity verification startup Veriff becomes a unicorn by raising a $100m Series C investment
Photo: Veriff founders Kaarel Kotkas and Janer Gorohhov
The funding round, co-led by Tiger Global and Alkeon, joined by existing investors IVP and Accel, brings Veriff’s total funding to $200M and its valuation to $1.5B, as it aims to expand its global customer base and deliver trusted online identity verifications.
A number of EstVCA members also participate in the round as existing investors, including United Angels VC, NordicNinja VC, Superangel and Change Ventures.
n 2021, Veriff rapidly increased verification volumes across the globe by more than 8X, and by 20X in the U.S. After two years of growing digital transactions online due to the pandemic, Veriff increased verification volume in the financial services sector by 10X in 2021, making Veriff the primary identity verification provider for 95 percent of its financial services customers. Marquee customers have helped fuel the 150% increase in customer growth in 2021, including the verification of users' age to instill trust and safety in the growing digital metaverse environment.
The new financing will be used to accelerate Veriff's global growth and invest in R&D, especially to advance product expansion. The company will also grow its sales and marketing teams to onboard more global clients and build on recent customer success programs. In addition, Veriff will expand its global workforce, 360 strong today and made up of 46 different nationalities and counting. Uniquely, Veriff's AI automation enables it to scale volume rapidly without incrementally needing to grow its small team of verification specialists.
Through its AI-powered, video-first approach, Veriff is able to make online IDV more accurate than physical face-to-face authentication and prevent more fraud than any other industry player. Secure global IDV enables businesses to unlock the full potential of the virtual world.
"Organizations and consumers needed to verify identities online more than ever before in 2021 - from onboarding remote employees, to creating a safe space for gaming in the metaverse, and conducting business fully online - which makes the establishment of digital trust and transparency incredibly critical," said Kaarel Kotkas, CEO and founder of Veriff. "The gigantic boom in digital services has increased the demand for IDV for any business online, and every person on this planet can be a user of Veriff. I'm proud of the Veriff team for leading the way after a massive year of growth and for securing Series C financing with our new investors Tiger and Alkeon."
"A reliable IDV solution for today's digital businesses and consumers has been exacerbated over the past two years as all operations moved online to conduct business," said John Curtius, Partner at Tiger Global. "Veriff has created an industry-leading product to ensure trust and safety online. Based on our research and customer calls, Veriff's product performance leaves others far behind and should be used more widely by companies out there. We're excited to support Veriff's success and join their mission of making trust reliable and scalable online."
About Veriff
Veriff is a global online identity verification company that enables organizations to build trust with their customers through intelligent, accurate, and automated online IDV. With the largest document specimen database on the market, Veriff's intelligent decision engine can analyze thousands of technological and behavioral variables in seconds, matching people to more than 10,000 government-issued IDs from over 190 countries and in 40 languages. Founded in 2015, Veriff serves a global portfolio of organizations across fintech, crypto, gaming and mobility sectors. Veriff's total secured funding to date is $200M and its investors include Accel, Alkeon, IVP, Mosaic Ventures, Nordic Ninja, Tiger Global, Y Combinator and others. With teams in the U.S., UK, Spain and Estonia, Veriff employs more than 360 people from 46 different nationalities. For more, visit www.veriff.com
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The funding round, co-led by Tiger Global and Alkeon, joined by existing investors IVP and Accel, brings Veriff’s total funding to $200M and its valuation to $1.5B, as it aims to expand its global customer base and deliver trusted online identity verifications.
A number of EstVCA members also participate in the round as existing investors, including United Angels VC, NordicNinja VC, Superangel and Change Ventures.
n 2021, Veriff rapidly increased verification volumes across the globe by more than 8X, and by 20X in the U.S. After two years of growing digital transactions online due to the pandemic, Veriff increased verification volume in the financial services sector by 10X in 2021, making Veriff the primary identity verification provider for 95 percent of its financial services customers. Marquee customers have helped fuel the 150% increase in customer growth in 2021, including the verification of users' age to instill trust and safety in the growing digital metaverse environment.
The new financing will be used to accelerate Veriff's global growth and invest in R&D, especially to advance product expansion. The company will also grow its sales and marketing teams to onboard more global clients and build on recent customer success programs. In addition, Veriff will expand its global workforce, 360 strong today and made up of 46 different nationalities and counting. Uniquely, Veriff's AI automation enables it to scale volume rapidly without incrementally needing to grow its small team of verification specialists.
Through its AI-powered, video-first approach, Veriff is able to make online IDV more accurate than physical face-to-face authentication and prevent more fraud than any other industry player. Secure global IDV enables businesses to unlock the full potential of the virtual world.
"Organizations and consumers needed to verify identities online more than ever before in 2021 - from onboarding remote employees, to creating a safe space for gaming in the metaverse, and conducting business fully online - which makes the establishment of digital trust and transparency incredibly critical," said Kaarel Kotkas, CEO and founder of Veriff. "The gigantic boom in digital services has increased the demand for IDV for any business online, and every person on this planet can be a user of Veriff. I'm proud of the Veriff team for leading the way after a massive year of growth and for securing Series C financing with our new investors Tiger and Alkeon."
"A reliable IDV solution for today's digital businesses and consumers has been exacerbated over the past two years as all operations moved online to conduct business," said John Curtius, Partner at Tiger Global. "Veriff has created an industry-leading product to ensure trust and safety online. Based on our research and customer calls, Veriff's product performance leaves others far behind and should be used more widely by companies out there. We're excited to support Veriff's success and join their mission of making trust reliable and scalable online."
About Veriff
Veriff is a global online identity verification company that enables organizations to build trust with their customers through intelligent, accurate, and automated online IDV. With the largest document specimen database on the market, Veriff's intelligent decision engine can analyze thousands of technological and behavioral variables in seconds, matching people to more than 10,000 government-issued IDs from over 190 countries and in 40 languages. Founded in 2015, Veriff serves a global portfolio of organizations across fintech, crypto, gaming and mobility sectors. Veriff's total secured funding to date is $200M and its investors include Accel, Alkeon, IVP, Mosaic Ventures, Nordic Ninja, Tiger Global, Y Combinator and others. With teams in the U.S., UK, Spain and Estonia, Veriff employs more than 360 people from 46 different nationalities. For more, visit www.veriff.com
Read more on the investment:
Photo credit: Veriff