Funding boost: 1Kosmos secures $57 million in Series B investment for identity-focused security enhancement
1Kosmos, a leading passwordless identity verification company, has raised $57 million in Series B funding, led by Forgepoint Capital and Origami's Oquirrh Ventures. The funding round also included contributions from Craig Abod, NextEra Energy Ventures, Gula Tech Adventures, and the 1Kosmos management team [1][3][4].
With this new capital, 1Kosmos aims to accelerate global expansion across North America, EMEA, and APAC. The funds will be used to deepen integrations with leading identity and access management (IAM), customer identity and access management (CIAM), privileged access management (PAM), and zero-trust platforms. They will also fuel ongoing product innovation, including passwordless authentication and biometric security solutions [1][3][4].
1Kosmos' technology is the only practical solution that can be quickly deployed to effectively combat the growing threat of impersonation-based attacks from sophisticated hacking groups and state-sponsored actors. The company's CEO, Hemen Vimadalal, stated that the investment will allow 1Kosmos to strengthen proactive controls against these threats [2].
1Kosmos' biometrics-driven approach positions it to capture the identity verification market as organizations seek to eliminate passwords and reduce identity fraud. Their BlockID platform creates a distributed digital identity that prevents identity impersonation, account takeover, and fraud while reducing friction [5].
Recent advancements for 1Kosmos include achieving 3x revenue growth in the past year, becoming the only full-service Credential Service Provider with FedRAMP High authorization and NIST 800-63-3 certification, and receiving top industry recognition from KuppingerCole in Product, Innovation, and Overall categories. The company has also developed a biometric security key (1Key) for frontline workers with live biometric verification (LiveID) and secured a major partnership with Microsoft for Entra ID external authentication [3].
Future plans for 1Kosmos focus on scaling direct and channel sales globally, expanding their identity-first security platform to combat rising impersonation threats such as social engineering and fake credentials, and continuing innovation in passwordless, phishing-resistant authentication to prevent account compromises at the earliest stage of attacks [1][3][5]. The company emphasizes its leadership in unifying verified identity proofing with passwordless authentication to secure enterprise environments amid evolving cybersecurity challenges [1][2][5].
George Becker's photo accompanies this article.
[1] TechCrunch. (2022, March 22). 1Kosmos raises $57M in Series B to expand its passwordless identity verification services. TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2022/03/22/1kosmos-raises-57m-in-series-b-to-expand-its-passwordless-identity-verification-services/
[2] Business Wire. (2022, March 22). 1Kosmos Secures $57 Million in Series B Funding to Scale its Passwordless Identity Verification Platform and Combat Rising Cybersecurity Threats. Business Wire. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220322005286/en/1Kosmos-Secures-57-Million-in-Series-B-Funding-to-Scale-its-Passwordless-Identity-Verification-Platform-and-Combat-Rising-Cybersecurity-Threats
[3] 1Kosmos. (n.d.). Press Room. 1Kosmos. https://www.1kosmos.com/press-room
[4] Forgepoint Capital. (n.d.). Portfolio. Forgepoint Capital. https://www.forgepointcapital.com/portfolio
[5] 1Kosmos. (n.d.). Our Story. 1Kosmos. https://www.1kosmos.com/our-story
The investment received by 1Kosmos will be utilized to fuel ongoing product innovation, specifically focusing on passwordless authentication and biometric security solutions. With the new capital, 1Kosmos intends to expand globally, notably in North America, EMEA, and APAC, while deepening integrations with leading identity and access management, customer identity and access management, privileged access management, and zero-trust platforms. This move reflects an emphasis on technology-driven investing in the finance sector as businesses continue to prioritize data-and-cloud-computing solutions and cybersecurity.
