Identity Verification Startup Equal Raises $10 Mn

Identity verification platform Equal has raised $10 Mn in its Series A funding round co-led by Prosus Ventures, Tomales Bay Capital, and founder Keshav Reddy, at a post-money valuation of $80 Mn.

The round also saw participation from Blume Ventures, DST Global, Gruhas, Quona VC, Flipkart cofounder Binny Bansal, Dream11 founder Harsh Jain, CRED founder Kunal Shah, Adani Ports MD Karan Adani, among others.

The Hyderabad-based startup said it plans to use the capital to scale operations, form strategic partnerships, and develop an integrated digital framework for enhancing India’s data-sharing ecosystem.

Founded in 2022 by Reddy and Rajeev Ranjan, Equal is an identity verification aggregator which helps businesses streamline KYC. It helps in fraud prevention and regulatory compliance through integration with over 50 ID databases and 4,000 API providers. 

The platform claims to enable over 64 Mn monthly transactions and service 250+ clients nationally, with a 97% success rate in KYC processing.

Commenting on the funding, Reddy said, “With this fundraise, and our partnership with OneMoney, we are committed to creating an ecosystem where every Indian and business can confidently take control of their data, fostering a more equitable and empowered digital future for India.”

The funding comes at a time when India’s digital identity verification market is witnessing significant growth. According to industry reports, the background verification market in India is currently valued at $360 Mn and is expected to reach $940 Mn by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 16.42%.

The sector has seen notable investments recently. In January 2024, IDfy secured $27 Mn in Series E funding led by Elev8, with participation from KB Investment and Tenacity Ventures. IDfy currently handles over 60 Mn verifications monthly across 1,500 clients including HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, and PhonePe.

In August, Equal invested an undisclosed amount in account aggregator platform OneMoney to enhance its offerings by combining secure, consent-driven financial data sharing with core identity verification services.

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