Digital authentication company Tru.id has raised an additional $4.8m (£3.6m) in its seed funding round from Sorenson Ventures, bringing the London-based firm’s total funding to $9m (£6.9m) ahead of a US launch.
Sorenson’s investment follows Tru.ID’s £3m raise last February by Episode 1, MMC Ventures and NHN Ventures.
Tru.ID is a digital identity company that wants to replace passwords with an API for multifactor authentication. Its API uses mobile network cryptography, which is similar to what is used in mobile SIMs and in credit cards to provide multifactor authentication.
“Cybercrime threatens all online businesses. The annual cost is estimated to be over $1tr and increasing. One of the biggest vulnerabilities is the password. Tru.ID brings a new solution that the world urgently needs: strong online security that is easy to use and already in everyone’s pocket,” Paul McGuire, co-founder and CEO, Tru.ID.
Sorenson Ventures is based out of Silicon Valley and Utah. It funds early-stage security and enterprise software companies with over $250m of capital under management.
Tru.ID said that Sorenson’s “strong US-based connections” will be “valuable as the company prepares to roll out its services into the US market”.
The startup is currently operational in 20 markets.
Rob Rueckert, partner, Sorenson Ventures, said: “Today, doing business online or working remotely means a constant threat of cyberattacks. Finding a solution that is effective and usable for customers and employees is an urgent and unsolved problem for businesses of every size.”
Passwords are often the weak point in a businesses’ cybersecurity, with cybercriminals cracking passwords to then conduct attacks such as ransomware. A recent report found that in 2021 UK ransomware attacks doubled.
Tru.ID’s raise comes amid growing markets for digital identity companies – which may be bolstered further by the UK government proposing new legislation for a digital identify firm ‘trustmark’.
Earlier this year, digital verification company Yoti took outside funding for the first time after being bootstrapped by its founders and employees.
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