【190114 Venturebeat】Authenteq, creator of the blockchain identity verification technology Trollteq, has raised $5 million in funding and is now touting its 60-second identity verification process.
The funding for the Reykjavik, Iceland-based company was led by Draper Associates and Capital300. The company said it completed its funding round in two weeks.
Authenteq CEO Kari Thor Runarsson said the company is talking with additional investors about a second closing of the Series A financing, which is expected to happen in the next couple of weeks.
“The reason we decided to do two closings is we were introduced to an investor (Capital300) with a startup mindset of getting things done and felt it was a great challenge to try to finish all due diligence and paperwork in two weeks after the term sheet was approved,” Runarsson said, in a statement. “It was sort of a field test for us to see if they really were as agile and dynamic as they claimed to be during our discussions. We were honestly surprised how smoothly it went, despite a very thorough due diligence and legal process.”
Authenteq publicly launched its service in late 2018, and it signed up a dozen clients in the first months. A typical customer needs to comply with KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) regulations, meaning companies in the financial industry, as well as online marketplaces and professional services.
“Having forward-thinking investors such as Tim Draper continue his support of Authenteq after backing the company in the seed round and a convertible note shows his interest and dedication to the space,” said Runarsson. “And having investors like Capital300 who show the entrepreneurial spirit of getting stuff done in record time really gives us confidence that we have picked the right investors for our continued growth.”
Draper is known for his investments in Skype, Tesla, SpaceX, Baidu, Coinbase, Robinhood, and Twitch.
“I believe that Authenteq is the beginning of the solution to true and pure identity, which may eliminate many of the security concerns in the market today. Their product is simple and elegant,” Draper said, in a statement.
Authenteq’s AI-driven automatic identity verification process uses a proprietary passive liveness detection to make sure whoever is signing up for the service is doing so in real time. The company then issues an eID for the user, located on the user’s mobile phone and private blockchain. In less than 60 seconds, a user is verified with government-grade facial recognition algorithms, and the photo ID documents are authenticated.
The market for mobile identity verification is currently estimated at $10 billion and is expected to double in the next four to five years, according to consulting firm McKinsey.
Authenteq differentiates itself from other players in the space with its eID, which gives the user complete control and ownership over their online identity. Authenteq’s plan is to introduce various disruptive services for the largely untapped market.
The company has 22 employees working in its Berlin and Reykjavik offices, and the new funding will be used in part to fill a range of new positions.
Authenteq believes its identity management service can help curb the scourge of internet trolls. Trolling has become endemic across platforms ranging from Twitter and Facebook to online news sites, and these haters have made many previously family friendly and socially responsible websites into havens for online abuse. No matter how many troll accounts are deleted by the provider, they still return under a new name or handle and continue their vile behavior, threats, and harassment.
With Trollteq, once a user is banned, they are gone for good and cannot re-register under a false name or identity. It requires buy-in from platforms that allow some degree of anonymity or privacy, as Trollteq uses Authenteq’s identity management system, which requires people to verify that they are human.
You first have to use your smartphone to capture your image, selfie-style. Then you take a picture of your valid driver’s license or some other form of sovereign identification. Authenteq verifies that the images are of you and that the ID card is legitimate. Then it associates you with a login account that you are creating, without giving away your identity.
Authenteq will then verify to a third party — in this case, the platform you are signing up to join — that you are a real human. You are only allowed to use your identification to sign up for one account, which means you can’t use the same identification to sign up for a new account if you are banned.
Authenteq stores a hashstring on the blockchain that, if checked, simply verifies that you are a human who opened an account. It will not keep your picture or your identification information once the verification process has been completed. If it ever becomes necessary to re-verify your identity, Authenteq will look up the hashstring on the blockchain, which is a secure and transparent decentralized digital ledger. With passports, Authenteq can read an encrypted chip for verification.
By not storing the data, Authenteq ensures that it won’t force customers to give up their privacy. For instance, if law enforcement comes to the website and demands to know the identity of a person behind an account, neither the platform owner nor Authenteq will be able to turn that information over because they won’t have it.
Of course, even these safeguards won’t satisfy some people, particularly those who have no interest in turning over their digital information or picture to any online entity. Runarsson acknowledges it will be difficult for some companies to require users to provide such verification. However, governments and new laws could very well require websites to verify that their users aren’t children, or that they have been verified in some way.
Under this system, all personal user information is user-owned, user-controlled, and completely inaccessible to anyone else — including Authenteq. With an Authenteq ID, how you verify your identity or parts of your identity to any third party is up to you. Trollteq can provision a digital biometric passport on any website, and the ID is user-owned and controlled, with all personal information kept on the blockchain.
After the initial signup, it takes a user under three seconds to connect their ID to any additional online profile, account, or identity they have, all without using a password. Trollteq incorporates exceptionally robust fraud and privacy protection tools, including liveness detection — advanced technology that makes sure only real live human beings are signing up, as opposed to static photos. Importantly, since Trollteq does not save any data about the user, there is no threat of a database breach leaking personal information.
【网安创企融资/第三方交流合作 加微junshao】
更多网安创投资讯
【金融风控】AccessFintech:获融$17.5M 金融网络风控
【整体并购】Arctic Wolf:并购RootSecure 布局网络风险测评
【系统安全】Tigera:获融$30M 致力K8s安全与合规
【企业安全】360企安:获融¥12.5亿 投后估值¥187.5亿
【云安全】Netskope:获融$168.7M 云安全领导者&顶级CASB
【IoT】Dust Identity:获融$2.3M 钻石防克隆安全标签
【整体并购】Bluefyre:Threat Stack将其并购 发力云安全
【业务安全】Shape Security:获融$26M 人工智能防黑客
【整体并购】Dome9:Check Point$175M将其并购 加码云安全
【反欺诈】Area 1:获融$32M 打造根据反钓鱼数量收费新模式
【云安全】Wallarm:获融$8M 提供基于AI的自适应云安全
【数据安全】CybelAngel:获融$12M 致力于DLP
【整体并购】Imperva:Thoma Bravo $2.1B将其并购 致力云安全
【安全管理】CloudKnox Raises:获融 $10.8M 防止权限管理失控
【整体并购】RedLock:平底锅$173M将其并购 布局云安全
【终端安全】Hysolate:获融$18M 混合架构兼顾终端安全与效率
【安全管理】Tanium:以投后$6.5B获融$200M 实时大规模终端安全管理
【网络安全】Darktrace:以投后$1.65B获融$50M 机器学习抵御网络威胁
【移动安全】Shape Security:获得E轮融资 致力于移动应用恶意攻击防护
【网络安全】Protocol 46:获融$1.1M 面向中小企业的军用级深度防御
【整体并购】Bitdefender:并购SMS eTech 加速拓展澳洲市场
【反欺诈】Ravelin:获融$8M 用机器学习对抗电商欺诈
【IoT】HawkEye 360:获融$5.3M 专注射频数据分析
【代码安全】Sonatype:获融$80M 专注开源安全检测
【网络安全】AnchorFree:VPN创企 获融$2.95亿
【合规风控】SynapseFI:致力于银行与Fintech融合 获融$1700万
【数据安全】AirTrunk: 超大规模数据中心 获融$6.21亿
【数据安全】Cloudian:企业数据管理 获融$9400万
【业务安全】扼制假消息 New Knowledge获融$1100万
【云安全】基于AI的云安全平台 Lacework获融$2400万
【安全管理】第三方网络风险管理 RiskRecon获融$2500万
【安全检测】AI驱动网安测评 RiskSense获融$1200万
【公共安全】智能城市及关键基础设施网安 iS5Com获融$1700万
【网安并购】Cisco以$23.5亿并购云身份认证创企DUO
【网安并购】Mimecast以$8800万并购威胁防护创企Solebit
【数据安全】敏感数据自动化管控 Integris获融$1000万
【金融风控】基于AI的反洗钱创企 ThetaRay获融$3000万
【邮件安全】机器学习驱动企业邮件安全 Tessian获融$1300万
【安全管理】数字资产安全创企 Panaseer获融$1000万
【端点安全】终端安全创企 CrowdStrike宣布获融$2亿
【安全检测】基于osquery的安全分析平台 Uptycs获融$1000万
【端点安全】基于AI的威胁防护 Cylance获融$1.2亿
【邮件安全】防止邮箱被人盗用 Valimail获融$2500万
【IoT】工业网安创企 Claroty获$6000万B轮融资
【业务安全】合规与自动化数据分类 DocAuthority获融$1000万
【安全管理】以色列国防级SOC Cyberbit获融$3000万
【安全管理】企业网安合规与风控 CyberSaint 获融$300万
【安全管理】企业级移动安全管理 Corrata获融€130万
【二级市场】360拟私募¥108亿 发力大数据、AI等九大方向
【应用安全】去服务器应用安全 Protego Labs获融$200万
【应用安全】SAP系统安全 ERP-Maestro获融$1200万
【威胁情报】LookingGlass并购高盛系威胁情报平台Sentinel
【移动安全】生物识别创企 SecuredTouch获融$800万
【应用安全】企业级应用安全 Onapsis获$3100万C轮融资
【IoT】车联网及无人驾驶安全 Karamba获融$1000万
【端点安全】下一代端点安全 Carbon Black拟在纳斯达克上市融资$1亿
【网络安全】软件即服务WAF Threat X获$820万A轮融资
【IoT】无人机探测雷达 Fortem获$1500万A轮融资
【区块链】金融数据安全 Spring Labs获融$1475万
【IoT】嵌入式设备安全 Red Balloon获$2190万A轮融资
【智能安防】机器人保安 Cobalt Robotics获融$1650万
【端点安全】进程监控 实时防护 Virsec获$2400万B轮融资
【企业并购】Palo Alto将$3亿收购云安全创企Evident.io
【云安全】混合云应用访问权限管理 Luminate获$1400万
【IoT】无人机驾驶安全 Airspace Systems获融$2000万
【威胁防护】通过无代码区识别恶意代码 Solebit 获融$1100万
【云安全】以插件代位WAF Templarbit获融$300万
【反欺诈】Proofpoint$2.25亿并购反钓鱼创企Wombat
【数据安全】帮助企业应对GDPR BigID获$1400万融资
【端点安全】混合架构协调效率与安全 Hysolate获$800万融资
【智能安防】巡逻机器人Knightscope获$2500万融资
【IoT】以色列创企VDOO获83North $1300万投资
【威胁情报】SaaS平台Anomali获$4000万D轮融资
【安全管理】外包SOC服务 Arctic Wolf获$1600万融资
【IoT】韩企Security Platform获软银$278万投资
【IoT】云车联网安全 Upstream获$900万A轮融资
【云安全】软件定义安全 ShieldX获$2500万B轮融资
【IoT】防护80亿个IoT终端 Cog获$350万A轮融资
【云安全】反恶意威胁云平台 Menlo获$4000万C轮融资
【移动安全】实时APP防护 Prevoty获$1300万B轮融资
【物联网】Tortuga Logic获融$200万打造芯片级安全
【威胁情报】ThreatQuotient获$3000万C轮融资
【智能安防】AI视频监控平台 博思廷获融¥3000万A+轮融资
【邮件安全】Proofpoint以$1.10亿收购Cloudmark
【工控安全】Enview通过AI及3D技术监控老旧管线获$600万A轮融资
【暗网监控】Recorded Future获$2500万E轮融资
【NAC】网络访问控制创企ForeScout上市融资$1.16亿
【网安测评】SecurityScorecard获诺基亚$2750万C轮融资
【威胁防护】实时防护创企Capsule8获$600万A轮融资
【容器安全】Aqua Security获$2500万B轮融资
【暗网防护】Digital Shadows获$2600万C轮融资
【反病毒】在初始阶段阻止病毒,AppGuard获3000万美元B轮融资
前往“发现”-“看一看”浏览“朋友在看”