Bureau Raises Additional $4.5 Mn Funding In Series A Round

SUMMARY

GMO Venture Partners and other existing investors participated in the round, taking Bureau’s total Series A round to $16.5 Mn

Bureau also said it has completed the acquisition of Y-Combinator backed identity verification startup inVOID

Bureau claims to have verified over 300 Mn digital identity on its platform since its inception two years ago

Almost 19 months after it raised $12 Mn in its Series A round, fraud detection startup Bureau on Tuesday (July 18) said it has bagged an additional $4.5 Mn as part of the same round.

Early stage VC firm GMO Venture Partners and other existing investors participated in this round, taking the startup’s total Series A round to $16.5 Mn.

Besides funding, Bureau also said it has completed the acquisition of Y-Combinator backed identity verification startup inVOID. It said the acquisition would help it expand its global coverage, widen its IP scope and expand tech stack.

Founded by Ranjan Reddy in 2020, Bureau helps businesses onboard customers and check through disparate data to prevent fraud and manage compliance. The startup provides banks, fintech, gaming, gig economy and ecommerce companies with a complete range of identity verification, fraud prevention and detection, and risk and compliance solutions. As per its website, Uni Cards, IIFL Finance, Bajaj Finserv, and ixigo are among its customers.

Bureau claims to have verified over 300 Mn digital identity on its platform since its inception two years ago.

The startup’s earlier $12 Mn Series A funding round was led by Quona Capital. It also saw participation from Commerce Ventures, Okta Identity, and angel investors Mark Britto, EVP Chief Product Officer at Paypal, and Bobby Mehta, former president and CEO of Transunion. Its existing investors then – XYZ Ventures, Blume Ventures, Village Global, EMVC and Sweat Equity Ventures, among others – also participated in the round.

In August 2020, the startup also raised a seed round of $4.2 Mn.

Bureau currently competes with the likes of IDfy, Signzy, Helloverify, and Karza Technologies, among others.

Over the years, enterprises have turned digital, with Covid-19 pandemic further accelerating this shift. However, cyber frauds have emerged as a major risk and it is necessary for companies to take measures to prevent such frauds. As per reports, damages caused by cyber frauds could cost $1 Tn on an annual basis by 2025.