You only have a minute? Here are 3 takeaways from this article:
• Outdid, an end-to-end no-knowledge private identity verification solution, announced the closing of its $2.5 million funding round.
• The round was led by Jump Crypto, backed by Superscrypt, and with participation from over 15 angel investors.
• The company’s verification solution requires no centralized access, processing or storage of personal information, ensuring user privacy while eliminating opportunities for data breaches.
Founded in 2022 by Bulgarian and Romanian founders, the startup seeks to revolutionize identity verification with a distinctive privacy-centric approach. Outdid’s platform uses zero-knowledge proof technology (which can verify identity documents while keeping all user data local on their devices) to provide fraud-resistant and cost-effective verification services.
“On the one hand, data privacy has become a major concern for people around the world. On the other hand, online verification fraud has reached a new record, the prevention of which requires more data collection and processing. Our identity document verification solution addresses these issues head-on. It is designed to ensure that not only is verification fraud-resistant, but personal data remains confidential, safe from prying eyes,” said Zvezdin Besarabov, CEO and co-founder of Outdid, whose Experience includes working on different research projects such as cryptocurrency forecasting. and automated creation of AI solutions.
Primarily focused on age verification use cases, Outdid’s technology is applicable across various industries requiring identity document verification, such as financial services, hospitality, mobility, commerce electronics, etc. The scalable solution can handle volume increases without the need for additional resources, its founders add.
“Identity theft is usually possible when someone gets their hands on a user’s private data (for example, their passport photo). Outdid performs identity verification without the user ever sending their private data to anyone for processing or storage. Even Outdid doesn’t see the user’s data, so there is nothing to steal/hack to commit identity fraud,” said Ana-Maria Pricop, COO and co-founder of Outdid.
As such, Outdid’s structure allows companies to maintain rigorous auditing standards without the usual substantial expense.
“The sectors that can benefit most from Outdid are those affected by new internet verification regulations (UK Online Safety Bill, US Children’s Online Safety Act, similar movements in Germany , in France, etc.). This includes social media, e-commerce, mobility and medical. Verification scenarios include checking the user’s region (in a way where using VPNs is ineffective), real age verification, sybil resistance (i.e. providing one-time discounts to users when they cannot simply create another trial account), name verification (e.g. that your account name matches your login),” adds Besarabov.
Based in London, Outdid will now use the funding for product and commercial development. The company’s solution has also been praised by key industry players, such as identity management platform Auth0.
“There are many identity verification solutions out there, but none take the approach to privacy that Outdid uses by using zero-knowledge proofs, minimizing costs and compliance risks,” Matias pointed out. Woloski, CTO and co-founder of Auth0.
