Israeli cybersecurity startup Transmit Security announced on Tuesday that it has raised USD 543 million in a Series A funding round at a pre-money valuation of USD 2.2 billion. This is one of the largest Series A rounds for a cybersecurity company.
The funding round was led by Insight Partners and General Atlantic, with additional investment from Cyberstarts, Geodesic, SYN Ventures, Vintage, and Artisanal Ventures.
Founded in 2014 by Mickey Boodaei and Rakesh Loonkar, Transmit Security creates what it calls “identity experiences” for customers and workforces across multiple channels. The company’s solutions, which include an app-less biometric authenticator, ensure an effortless and passwordless experience, reducing all forms of identity attrition and saving costs for enterprises.
Transmit employs 100 people with headquarters in Tel Aviv and additional offices in Boston, London, Berlin, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Madrid, Sao Paulo, and Mexico City.
Transmit Security said it will use the funding to increase its reach and expand its primary business functions, investing in key global areas to grow the organization.
The World Economic Forum reported that around 80% of cyberattacks are related to passwords. Cybercrime, the international NGO reports, cost the global economy USD 2.9 million every minute in 2020.
Transmit Security created BindID, a customer authentication service that is completely password-free, for this reason. BindID requires no customer software or dedicated hardware and can be used across any channel or device. Customers can authenticate and access their accounts using an embedded fingerprint or face scanner on their devices or use their mobile device to securely authenticate other devices and channels that don’t have an embedded biometric reader.
“Passwordless authentication is so much more than ensuring customers can easily and seamlessly access their information, their accounts, and make purchases—it’s about revolutionizing the way companies interact with their customers,” said Boodaei, who serves as Transmit Security CEO.
“Our customers, whether they are in the retail, banking, financial, telecommunications, or automotive sectors, understand that providing an optimized identity experience is a multimillion-dollar challenge. With this latest round of funding from premier partners, we can significantly expand our reach to help rid the world of passwords,” he added.
“Transmit Security is offering application owners a new reality: the ability to go passwordless no matter the size of their organization or number of users. The fact that we have raised a record amount of funding is a clear indication that the world is ready to eliminate passwords and embrace biometric authentication technology so they can deliver enhanced user experiences combined with significantly heightened levels of security,” said Loonkar, who serves as Transmit Security president.
“We have been watching the growth of Transmit Security for some time and are deeply impressed by the leadership and passion Mickey and Rakesh have demonstrated as they take identity management to a new level,” said Matt Gatto, managing director at Insight Partners. “Their groundbreaking technology, entrepreneurial spirit, and deep expertise are precisely what this industry needs at this moment. We are thrilled to welcome the Transmit Security team to the Insight family as we focus our investments on creating a passwordless world.”