Trulioo, a Vancouver-based FinTech startup focused on global identity verification, has raised a total of $70 million CAD from a number of large financial institutions.
The funding includes a $60 million Series C round that was led by Goldman Sachs Growth Equity and saw participation from Citi Ventures, Santander InnoVentures, and return investor American Express Ventures. The remaining $10 million came in the form of “unannounced” follow on funding from early investors Blumberg Capital and BDC Capital, last year. Trulioo said that with this new raise its total capital raised since 2011 comes to $96.6 million.
“We’re committed to leveraging technology to help our customers fight financial crime, money laundering, and election fraud.”
“Today, families, businesses, and entire economies are being powered by the global shift towards a truly digital economy, which is exciting but also opens up new forms of risk,” said Stephen Ufford, CEO and founder of Trulioo. “We’re committed to leveraging technology to help our customers fight financial crime, money laundering, and election fraud. I’d like to thank our investors for their trust in the work we are doing and for enabling us to push forward our solutions that transcend boundaries and channels, and which facilitate trusted transactions from anywhere, instantly.”
Trulioo plans to use the funding to “lead the company into its next growth phase,” which includes scaling its operations in new markets. The startup stated that it is on a mission of “building trust online” with hopes to tackle “today’s most pressing global problems associated with verifying identities.” Trulioo expects to grow its headcount to 200 people from its current 130, with plans to hire across its Vancouver, San Francisco, and Dublin offices.
Founded in 2011 by Ufford and Tanis Jorge (currently a director on Trulioo’s board), Trulioo claims to provide instant global identity verification for five billion consumers and more than 250 million business entities in over 195 countries. Trulioo states that Ufford and Jorge founded Trulioo after successfully launching and exiting three other startups together, wanting to make their fourth venture “meaningful and impactful at a global scale.”
Trulioo’s solution is used in a wide range of industries including technology, banking, retail, payments, online marketplaces, and social media networks. “By integrating with Trulioo’s API, organizations are able to instantly verify the identities of more than two-thirds of the world’s population, enabling those who were previously excluded opportunities to pursue a better life by participating in today’s modern digital economy,” the company stated. Its platform gives real-time access to data sources, allowing organizations to stay compliant with anti-money laundering and customer due diligence requirements.
“In today’s digital-first society, validating that people are who they say they are is critical to reducing business risk,” said Matt Carbonara, managing director of venture investing at Citi Ventures. “Trulioo’s identity verification service makes the process seamless and cost-effective, enabling organizations to quickly onboard new customers while still protecting themselves from identity fraud.”
Trulioo’s raise comes among a number of recent large rounds from BC-based tech startups. At the beginning of September, Burnaby-based Clio announced a $330 million CAD Series D. Just one day later Vancouver-based cleantech startup Terramera raised a $59.5 million CAD Series B, bringing its total capital raised so far this year to more than $72.5 million.