US-based identity verification software startup Beyond Identity has collected $75m in a series B round backed by Koch Disruptive Technologies (KDT), an investment subsidiary of chemicals and energy conglomerate Koch Industries.
Other investors in the round included venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and Beyond Identity’s chairman and co-founder, Jim Clark.
Beyond Identity has developed a cloud-native identity authentication platform for businesses that uses asymmetric-key cryptography instead of traditional password methods. It has formed integration partnerships with single sign-on providers such as Microsoft, Ping Identity, Okta and ForgeRock.
The company was founded in April this year by Jim Clark, also co-founder of internet browser developer Netscape, and CEO Tom Jermoluk, a former general partner at VC firm Kleiner Perkins.
The funding will be used to develop Beyond Identity’s technology and expand its presence globally. It raised $30m in a series C round co-led by KDT and NEA in April this year that included undisclosed other investors.
Jermoluk said: “Passwords are so repeatedly exposed that they have become a commodity for criminals. The result has been an exponential rise in account takeover fraud that is costing companies billions annually.”
“Fundamentally strong authentication requires that companies completely eliminate passwords. But that is just the first move, not the end game.
“Forward-looking companies are adopting continuous authentication, a new model that provides fundamentally strong, risk-based access, significantly reducing exposure to account takeovers and protecting user privacy.”