Biometric authentication co Transmit Security raises $543m
The Israeli cybersecurity company, which strives for a passwordless world, completed the financing round at a valuation of $2.2 billion.
Israeli passwordless authentication company Transmit Security announced that it has completed a $543 million Series A financing round, led by Insight Partners and General Atlantic, with additional investment from Cyberstarts, Geodesic, SYN Ventures, Vintage, and Artisanal Ventures. This brings the company's pre-money valuation to $2.2 billion.
Transmit Security claims that this is the largest Series A funding round in cybersecurity history and one of the highest valuations for a bootstrapped company.
Transmit Security says it will use the funding to increase the company's reach and expand its primary business functions, investing in key global areas in order to grow the organization, and ultimately fulfil its vision of a passwordless world. But the company declined to comment on how much of the money raised will be for investment and how much is for buying shares from founders and employees.
Transmit Security stresses that outdated and ineffective password-based systems are costing businesses revenue, and cites research which found that weak passwords account for more than 80% of all data breaches.
Using biometric authentication, Transmit Security provides the first natively passwordless identity and risk management solution to the largest brands in the world. Transmit Security's mission is to enable organizations to deliver advanced identity use cases that improve the user experience, enhance security, and satisfy compliance requirements at a fraction of the time and cost of traditional identity solutions.
With offices in Tel Aviv and Boston, the company was initially financed by its founders, CEO Mickey Boodaei and president Rakesh K. Loonkar, who previously created online banking security pioneer Trusteer, which was acquired by IBM in 2013. Boodaei also cofounded Imperva, a billion dollar provider of cyber and data security products. The company's R&D team is made up of former members of Unit 8200, the elite Israeli Intelligence Corps. Transmit Security previously raised $40 million in 2017, in a self-funding financing round. The company, which was founded in 2014, has 200 employees, including 110 in Israel.
Transmit Security's customers include six of the seven largest financial institutions in the US, two of the largest merchants in the US, and many financial organizations, merchants and online service providers in Europe.