Confirmed: Entrust acquires AI-based identity verification startup Onfido for more than $400 million, sources say

Image credits: Photo/Getty Images

Onfido, which pioneered the world of identity verification using computer vision, machine learning, and other AI tools, is being acquired, TechCrunch has learned and confirmed. Entrust, a privately held company that provides a variety of authentication and verification services for payment cards, passwords, network and website access, device access, and more, has launched a London-based startup for “well over $400.” Sources say that the acquisition will be made for a certain amount. a million.

A closing date for the transaction has not yet been determined as it is still subject to regulatory approvals. The companies are now formally describing these negotiations as “early and exclusive” negotiations. Once this process is complete, he plans to integrate Onfido’s tools into Entrust’s broader technology stack, Todd Wilkinson, Entrust’s CEO and president, said in an interview.

“Our integration of Onfido with Entrust positions us as a leader across the entire identity lifecycle,” he said.

Entrust has been around since the 1990s, and Datacard (which acquired Entrust and rebranded the business under the latter’s name) has been around since 1969, so one of the important things we’re talking about here is that AI It is noteworthy that it is a comprehensive addition to the base. tool. “[With] With tools like Onfido’s Atlas AI, it’s no surprise that AI is a big draw for us, right?” he added.

The purchase price and other financial terms were not disclosed, Wilkinson said.

He said Entrust itself is profitable, and has been for years, and currently has about 10,000 customers, including governments, major banks and large corporations around the world, and generates “just under $1 billion a year.” ”, he added. He said the company had no shareholders and was privately owned by a German family, so it had never undergone a formal evaluation process.

Onfido, on the other hand, was founded by Hussain Kasai while he was still a student at Oxford. Eamon Jubbawy and Ruhul Amin then joined as co-founders.

Many of its steps reflect other major trends in the world of technology. It started with his last AI boom in the 2010s (he founded it in 2012) and raised funding from investors such as TPG, Salesforce, Microsoft, and about 50 other companies and prominent individuals. And during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, its star status increased even further. all As transactions have become digital, the need for digital-based identity verification tools has become even more of a priority. (In fact, the company’s last disclosed funding was $100 million in 2020. PitchBook notes that it has secretly raised more money since then, but the amount is unclear.)

The culmination of the post-pandemic economic downturn and the return from the “new normal” — changes that have affected many other tech companies — has undoubtedly hit Onfido as well. Kassai stepped away from the business several years ago (he is currently working on another of his edtech-focused AI startups, Quench.ai, backed by Sequoia and others). I had heard that the company was unofficially looking for a buyer. The last few years.

Now, Entrust’s move to acquire Onfido looms at a pivotal moment in the technology world.

The relentless pace of new data breaches has put security concerns and how their identities are being used and abused top of mind for many consumers and businesses. Additionally, a wave of regulations aimed at improving data protection has further increased the focus on identity management. In addition to this, the proliferation of cloud-based digital services that are now part of how the world operates has expanded the attack surface for enterprising malicious hackers looking to exploit vulnerabilities. As a result, identity, authentication, and security providers are scrambling to respond.

Entrust already has a wide range of services and has the technical talent and credibility to work in some of the market’s more sensitive industries, such as government services and financial services. But AI acquisitions provide an even more significant step up in providing services that meet the complex challenges of today and perhaps tomorrow.

This also speaks to the larger trends we are seeing in the integration of point solutions on large platforms.

“I think this market is confusing for many end users because there are so many players in this space,” Wilkinson said. “This is great from a creativity and competitiveness perspective, but it’s also difficult from an end-user perspective. For companies like ours, there was a real opportunity to grow.”

We have reached out to Onfido for comment on this article and will update when we receive comment. For now, only the boilerplate text from the press release remains.

“We are excited to enter into early and exclusive discussions with Entrust to potentially expand access to cutting-edge, secure digital identity verification solutions around the world,” Onfido CEO Mike Tuchen said in a statement. I’m excited.” “Digital identity enables a new level of simplicity and access for people around the world. Onfido’s powerful AI and machine learning-powered identity verification and Entrust’s proven identity security solutions enable us to A new world of digital trust is possible.”