Funding Round Secures $57 Million for Kosmos in Series B for Enhanced Security Focused on Identities
In the ever-evolving landscape of digital security, one company is making waves with its innovative approach to passwordless identity verification. 1Kosmos, founded in 2018, has been at the forefront of this rapidly growing market, using live biometrics to facilitate secure access to digital services for workers, customers, and citizens alike.
The global passwordless authentication market is experiencing significant growth, driven by rising cybersecurity threats, regulatory mandates for phishing-resistant authentication, and the increasing adoption of biometrics and FIDO2-compliant technologies. With projections estimating a value of around $40.2 billion by 2031 and a CAGR of over 12% from 2022 to 2031, the market presents a lucrative opportunity for companies like 1Kosmos.
The company's recent Series B round of $57 million will be used to advance product innovation, deepen technology integrations, and accelerate global expansion. This investment comes amid a string of recent wins for 1Kosmos, including securing FedRAMP High and Kantara certification, a $194.5 million Login.gov contract, and integrating with Microsoft Entra ID.
1Kosmos' technology, the BlockID platform, creates a distributed digital identity to prevent identity impersonation, account takeover, and fraud while reducing friction. The platform's biometrics-driven approach positions it to capture a significant share of the identity verification market.
CEO Hemen Vimadalal stated that the investment will be used to strengthen proactive controls against impersonation-based attacks. The funds will also be used to expand integrations with IAM, CIAM, PAM, and zero trust platforms, and accelerate global growth, with a focus on scaling quickly across North America, EMEA, and APAC regions.
The strategic funding rounds have attracted attention due to 1Kosmos' unique value proposition in secure, frictionless identity verification. Forgepoint Capital, as the largest investor in 1Kosmos, expressed pride in the company's innovation and growth.
Regulatory support and maturing technologies are driving the passwordless identity market's evolution. Entities such as the US NIST are updating guidelines for phishing-resistant MFA, accelerating adoption especially in government and enterprise sectors. Australia and New Zealand are leaders in operational passkey deployments, serving tens of millions.
As large enterprises shift towards passwordless methods by 2025, favouring biometrics, PINs, and hardware tokens aligned with FIDO2 standards, companies like 1Kosmos are well positioned to capitalize on this growth by delivering advanced, compliant passwordless identity verification solutions.
The mission of 1Kosmos remains focused on providing individuals with a secure digital identity they control, a mission that resonates in today's digital age where cybersecurity is paramount.
[1] MarketandMarkets. (2021). Passwordless Authentication Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Component (Solution and Services), Deployment Mode (Cloud and On-premises), Authentication Type (Knowledge-based, Possession-based, and Inherence-based), End-use Industry (BFSI, IT and Telecommunications, Government, Healthcare, and Retail), and Region - Global Forecast to 2031. [2] Gartner. (2021). Gartner Forecasts Worldwide IT Spending to Grow 8.4% in 2022. [3] McKinsey & Company. (2020). The rise of passwordless authentication. [4] Australian Cyber Security Centre. (2021). Operational Passkeys: A Guide for Developers. [5] NIST. (2021). Special Publication 800-63-3: Digital Identity Guidelines.
- As the global passwordless authentication market continues to expand, driven by factors such as cybersecurity threats, regulatory mandates, and the increasing adoption of biometrics and FIDO2-compliant technologies, companies like 1Kosmos, with their innovative biometrics-driven approach to identity verification, are poised to capitalize on this growth in the business sector.
- With a projected value of around $40.2 billion by 2031 and a CAGR of over 12%, the passwordless authentication market presents a lucrative opportunity for technological investments, especially for companies like 1Kosmos, which recently secured a Series B funding of $57 million to advance product innovation, deepen technology integrations, and accelerate global expansion in the fields of finance and investing.
