Digital ID verification firm Onfido raises $30 million from Microsoft, Salesforce, and others

Onfido, a company developing digital identification tools, has raised $30 million led by Crane Venture Partners with participation from Microsoft Ventures and Salesforce Ventures.

Onfido's tech is used to verify someone's identity online when registering for a service. It uses machine learning to check a user's selfie against an ID document. It also uses human moderators to carry out some of the checks.

The Series C funding will be used for further development of the UK-based company’s machine learning components as well as to plot its US and international market expansion.

Online ID checks help market segments that are undeserved by financial services to efficiently access fintech services, according to CEO Hussayn Kassai.

“Just as money was required to oil the wheels of commerce in previous centuries, your legal identity is pivotal to enable transactions as we move to a digital world," he said. "As identity verification technology continues to evolve, it will become the key to remotely unlocking a huge range of products globally, from banking and travel services through to voting and healthcare.”

Onfido has gathered a lot of traction in Europe and will hope to repeat that demand in the US said Scott Sage, partner at Crane Venture Partners.

“Smartphones are pervasive, powerful tools for accelerating the adoption of identity verification processes,” added Itxaso del Palacio, investment partner at Microsoft Ventures. “Onfido’s reliable and scalable intelligent services are helping millions of unbanked people worldwide access financial services by allowing them to open bank accounts, be verified for a job and more with the touch of a button.”

Onfido is based in London with offices in Lisbon, San Francisco, New York, and New Delhi. The company previously raised $25 million last year.

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