Prove Identity, a smartphone-based identity verification startup, has secured $40 million and reached unicorn status with a valuation exceeding $1 billion.
The company will use the capital to “launch new commerce enablement and fraud-fighting use cases, continue Prove’s global expansion, and address the evolving threats faced by all public and private institutions operating in the digital economy,” according to a Tuesday (Oct. 17) press release.
Prove’s tools streamline customer verification and authentication processes, the release said. The company uses mobile phones to verify identities on mobile, desktop and in-store channels.
“As our daily lives become increasingly digital, Prove’s mission is to be the global standard for fast, secure and privacy-first digital identity,” Prove Identity Co-founder and CEO Rodger Desai said in the release. “This funding will further our work toward comprehensive digital identity solutions that secure the future for all.”
The company aims to offer faster onboarding, reduced abandonment rates, and decreased fraud, per the release.
The funding round was co-led by MassMutual Ventures and Capital One Ventures, according to the release.
“As consumers continue to experience risk in their engagement with brands, Prove’s solutions ensure that verified and authenticated information is being used, enabling brands to drive both loyalty and revenue,” MassMutual Ventures partner Charles Svirk, who will be joining Prove’s board of directors, said in the release.
Jaidev Shergill, managing partner and head of Capital One Ventures, highlighted in the release Prove’s ability to address mobile identity verification and authentication with speed and efficiency, alleviating burdens for customers.
In February, Prove Identity Chief Product Officer Nicole Jass told PYMNTS that despite the growing popularity of biometrics and other advanced authentication methods, passwords are still prevalent.
The existence of password-protected accounts is a point of vulnerability that hackers can exploit, she explained, adding that cybersecurity is strengthened by biometrics-enabled accounts that don’t have passwords to steal.
Asked by PYMNTS which verticals are most readily adopting and adapting to biometrics and the eventuality of the passwordless future, Jass pointed to financial services and gaming as verticals especially ripe to make the leap to more advanced authentication methods.
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