Callsign, a UK-based authentication platform backed by digital consultancy Reply, has raised $35m in a series A round co-led by venture capital firms Accel and PTB Ventures.
The round also featured VC firm Allegis Capital and NightDragon Security, the investment fund formed by cybersecurity industry veteran David DeWalt.
Founded in 2012, Callsign has developed an artificial intelligence-based platform called Intelligence Driven Authentication (IDA) that enables companies to authenticate callers in real time using an individualised risk profile, while generating the least possible interference to the customer.
The company aims to expand globally, with a particular focus on the US and the Far East, and plans to open offices in San Francisco and New York City in the coming months. The funding will also drive recruitment across its engineering and commercial teams.
Harry Nelis, partner at Accel; Bob Ackerman, founder and managing director of Allegis Capital; and Dave Fields, founder of PTB Ventures, will join Callsign’s board of directors while David DeWalt will take the vice-chairman position on the board.
Callsign received an undisclosed amount of funding from Breed Reply, the internet of things-focused incubator and fund formed by Reply, in October 2016.
Zia Hayat, founder and CEO of Callsign, said: “Several years ago, I realised that the way we identify ourselves online was very broken. I knew we needed to make existing solutions like multi-factor authentication and fraud analytics better by bringing them together.
“Our IDA platform has had an incredible reception from financial institutions, governments and other large enterprises, and this investment will allow us to grow the business and meet some of the strong demand we are seeing.”