Persona Secures $200M Funding to Revolutionize Identity Verification in the Age of AI

Identity verification startup Persona raises $200M at $2B valuation - SiliconANGLE

Identity verification startup Persona raises $200M at $2B valuation Persona Identities Inc., a startup that helps companies such as online retailers verify the identity of users, has closed a $200 million funding round. The Series D investment was announced today. Founders Fund and Ribbit Capital led the deal with participation from returning backers BOND, Coatue, First Round Capital and Index Ventures. Persona is now valued at $2 billion. Services such as banking apps verify new users by asking them to submit identity documents during the sign-up process. In many cases, the verification workflow also draws on other data points. A company might, for example, compare a new user's IP address against a database of IP addresses associated with hacker activity. Building software workflows that can perform those tasks is a complicated, time-consuming endeavor. Persona promises to ease the process. The San Francisco startup's namesake cloud platform provides prepackaged features for implementing identity verification features. Persona says that its software is used by more than 3,000 customers including OpenAI, Instacart Inc. and other major tech firms. The company provides a library of interface elements that can be used to quickly build an application's sign-up form. According to Persona, developers may adjust the number of verification steps that users must complete based on the risk associated with a sign-up attempt. The higher the risk level, the more verification steps are required. Persona says that its platform uses artificial intelligence to scan uploaded documents for signs of tempering. It can also spot other issues such as expired IDs. After filtering invalid uploads, the AI automatically organizes user documents by type to make them easier to process. Persona also takes other types of data into account when reviewing sign-up attempts. The company's platform can analyze technical information about the device from which an account registration request is submitted. It also considers behavioral signals such as distraction events, or interruptions in the sign-up workflow, and whether or not a customer uses an autofill tool. Companies can optionally configure Persona to repeat the verification process in response to certain events. An e-commerce marketplace operator, for example, could require verification every time a user places a large purchase. Fraudsters often carry out illicit activity using not one but multiple malicious accounts that work in tandem. Persona provides an analytics tool that can identify such malicious account clusters, as well retrieve historical data that shows how they were created. Companies can optionally enrich the information that the tool uses to spot fraudulent activity with internal data and signals from third-party providers. "As we move into an era of agentic AI, identity challenges won't just grow -- they'll multiply," Persona co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Rick Song wrote in a blog post today. "The real hurdle is no longer spotting bots; it's verifying who's behind every action and whether they can be trusted."

Persona raises $200m to build verified identity layer for an agentic AI world

This content has been selected, created and edited by the Finextra editorial team based upon its relevance and interest to our community. Founders Fund and Ribbit Capital co-led the Series D round, with participation from existing investors including Bond, Coatue, First Round Capital, and Index Ventures. Persona says that rise of AI agents, increasingly sophisticated AI-driven fraud, regulatory fragmentation, and growing privacy expectations have created a far more complex -- and constantly evolving -- identity landscape. The rise of automated traffic - which eclipsed human traffic on the internet for the first time in 2024 -- poses a particular challenge when it comes to identity as technology seeks to understand who is behind it and what their intent is. All this, claims the firm, requires a dynamic, configurable identity platform that can adapt to diverse use cases, keep pace with shifting risks, and scale trust wherever and however it's needed. Persona is bidding to address this by building a verified identity layer -- secure infrastructure that helps businesses verify individuals and entities across contexts while giving people control over their personal information. Founded in 2018, the company's technology is now available in more than 200 countries and territories and 20 different languages, used by the likes of Robinhood, Brex and OpenAI. Rick Song, CEO, Persona, says: "Identity in an AI-driven world isn't about ticking a box, and the question is no longer 'is this a bot or not?' but rather 'who is the bot acting on behalf of, and what is their intent?' "Identity is the linchpin: it reveals who is behind each action, provides context around their intent, and ultimately builds trust in a future where AI mediates more of our interactions."

Persona Raises $200 Million to Expand Identity Platform | PYMNTS.com

Persona raised $200 million in a Series D funding round to expand its identity platform that helps businesses verify their customers online. The company is building a verified identity layer that will determine not only identity but also intent, helping businesses operate in a world that includes artificial intelligence agents, Persona said in a Wednesday (April 30) press release. "Identity in an AI-driven world isn't about ticking a box, and the question is no longer, 'Is this a bot or not?' but rather, 'Who is the bot acting on behalf of, and what is their intent?'" Persona CEO and co-founder Rick Song said in the release. "Identity is the linchpin. It reveals who is behind each action, provides context around their intent, and ultimately builds trust in a future where AI mediates more of our interactions." The verified identity layer will enable businesses to manage evolving regulations, risk models and user journeys and provide individuals with a reusable identity they can use with different services, according to the release. In addition to building the new verified identity layer, Persona has added new features over the past year, including enhanced age assurance solutions, expanded international know your business (KYB) capabilities, and extension into workforce identity security, the release said. Persona's latest funding round was co-led by Founders Fund and Ribbit Capital, per the release. "Identity has become the foundation of every digital interaction, and in the age of AI, we believe solving identity will be more pivotal than ever," Ribbit Capital Partner Nick Shalek said in the release. Persona raised $150 million in a Series C funding round in September 2021, saying it would add to its team and extend its identity infrastructure offerings. Identity-related suspicious activity accounts for 42% of all suspicious banking activity, with verification circumvention identified as the most reported type of fraud, according to the PYMNTS Intelligence report "How FinTechs Are Fighting Identity Theft and Identity Fraud." It was reported in March that investment firm Corsair Capital acquired a majority stake in ID verification platform IDnow for $295 million, saying it aimed to grow IDnow by strengthening its positions in multiple geographies and making more acquisitions.