Prove’s generation links knowledge of a phone’s SIM card, which “acts as a privacy-focused proxy for virtual identities,” with features introduced on smartphones, such as facial recognition, to authenticate users. This triggers other movements such as pre-filling, visitor verification flows, and passwordless authentication.
Prove said it plans to use the investment to expand more equipment for virtual invoices and commerce, as well as fraud detection, and it appears the cell phone will remain a core component of the proposal.
This build is co-led by strategic funders MassMutual and Capital One, and comes at a time when virtual identity remains a hot topic.
A corporate spokesperson did not elaborate on a more accurate assessment. In some context, when the company last announced a significant investment ($100 million just days before its big rebrand), CEO Rodger Desai told me it was already profitable. At the time, its post-coin valuation was $549 million, according to data from PitchBook. This is the figure that has been blocked ever since.
The number of cybersecurity breaches resulting from credential theft by malicious hackers continues to grow, highlighting the opportunity for more effective teams in the market and investor interest in betting in this area.
Notably, in 2020, Desai told us that Payfone (as it was called at the time) had processed 20 billion authentications in 2019 and had grown by 70% year-over-year, with the purpose of bringing that figure to one hundred billion transactions in the next few years. Its online page lately doesn’t provide an up-to-date number of transactions (and its current 40% expansion is well below 70%). This is indicative that there is a lot of festival going on in the space.
Of course, it proves to be the only company to take advantage of this opportunity.
In addition to older startups like Jumio, there are startups like ThetaRay and Fourthline that are building AI-based approaches. Large capital firms are also stepping up, reclaiming and consolidating generation and visitor bases for greater economies of scale.
And then there’s Worldcoin, co-founded through OpenAI’s Sam Altman, which needs to bring an absolutely new concept (and business) to the world of virtual identity. The concept is to build physical “orbs” to scan irises, in order to build a network of virtual IDs, which in turn will connect to a new global cryptocurrency, and a payment app that leverages the two together. The startup has already generated controversy in the markets, but it has also sought significant funding, so it’s possible that it will be available. for a moment.
While projects like WorldCoin’s are still in their infancy, Prove has expanded its visitor base beyond trading. It said its 1,000 consumers come from “nine of the 10 most sensible American banks, 2 of the most sensible cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, 3 of the most sensible five sensible American retailers, 2 of the 3 most sensible health care companies in America, and 6 of the 10 most sensible insurance companies” in the United States. (FanDuel recently signed up as a visitor; others come with Experian, Visa, Starbucks, BlueCross BlueShield, and DocuSign. )
Prove founded the first wave of smartphone adoption, circa 2008, with the goal of reducing some of the friction and consequent cart abandonment related to e-commerce transactions, through building on the increasing ubiquity of phones and the knowledge they unlocked. (Speed remains a priority: the company says its teams now offer “79% faster onboarding, 35% relief in churn, and 75% relief in fraud. “)
Initially, the focus was on carrier billing, partnering with cell phone carriers to offer a choice to credit cards (and the difficulty of entering related information). Later, it evolved into what it is today, its algorithms to leverage phone knowledge to provide assistance. Design feeds for consumers to determine users.
The global identity and access control market is estimated to be worth around $16 billion in 2022, according to GrandView Research, keeping investors interested in new technologies and approaches to address them.
“Prove is driving a paradigm shift in the way businesses and consumers interact securely,” said Charles Svirk, partner at MassMutual Ventures. “As consumers continue to take risks in their interaction with brands, Prove’s responses ensure that verified and authenticated data is used. enabling brands to drive loyalty and revenue. We are thrilled to continue Prove as they redefine our vision of virtual identity. “Svirk joins the startup’s board of directors with this investment.
Updated to explain that the 40% expansion is foreign only and to explain how Prove’s generation works.