Identity verification and fraud prevention platform Bureau has added $4.5 million to its Series A funding of $12 million, closing the round at $16.5 million from Tokyo-based venture capital firm GMO VenturePartners, payment processing services company GMO Payments Gateway, and existing investors. The latest round takes the total funding of the startup to $20.5 million so far, a company statement said.
In addition to the funding round, Bureau said it also completed the acquisition of inVOID, a Y Combinator-backed identity verification startup to improve its global coverage, widen the IP scope and broaden its tech stack. The company said it also eyes a strategic partnership with GMO Payment Gateway.
“Compliance regulations are no longer limited to the banking sector. Nearly every sector – gig economy, crypto, gaming, e-commerce – faces regulations, some for the very first time. But companies cannot just rely on compliance. They need to know whether a digital identity and their transaction are really who they say they are. The synergies are a game-changer for companies because, for the first time, they have a clear view into whether a digital identity is trustworthy all orchestrated from a single platform,” said Ranjan Reddy, Founder, Bureau.
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Founded in 2020, businesses use Bureau’s risk orchestration platform to manage compliance, and prevent fraud for their entire customer journey. The company serves customers across banking, fintech, insurance, the gig economy, and real money gaming among others. According to the company, it has increased customer and revenue numbers six times in the last 12 months, with over 300 million identities verified through its platform.
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“As an investor on both debt and equity sides, it’s clear to us that fraud prevention is a key priority for fintechs today and Bureau is in a great position to become the market leader in this space,” said Ryu Muramatsu, Director/Founding Partner at GMO VenturePartners Inc. commented.
GMO VenturePartners is a subsidy of GMO Internet Group and has backed supported startups in the payment, adtech, and enterprise SaaS sectors in Japan, China, Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and the US.
According to management consulting firm Gartner, cyber fraud will cost the world $1 trillion annually by 2025 and the market for fraud detection and prevention platforms will likely reach $142 billion by 2028. 73 per cent of this expenditure is borne by companies in the banking, financial services, and insurance sectors currently.