Startup of the Week: Sum&Substance (Sumsub)

  • Sumsub was founded in 2015 by co-founders Andrey Sever, Vyacheslav Zholudev, Jacob Sever and Peter Sever.
  • The company create Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions for anti-fraud and anti-money laundering purposes.
  • So far, Sumsub have raised a total $6 million from a Series A.

Our Startup of the Week for this week is tech startup Sum&Substance – otherwise known as Sumsub.

Sumsub develop AI solutions that help better their clients’ user trust and compliance of legal requirements. The startup achieves this by protecting Internet services’ users from fraud, and helping clients to avoid getting caught in money laundering schemes – creating solutions that help to identify customers, employees and partners online.

Sumsub began in 2015 as three of the four co-founders (who were also brothers) Andrey, Jacob and Peter Sever, released the first version of the company’s anti-fraud forensic software. This software was based on machine learning algorithms, and analysed fraud patterns for clients.

In 2016, the startup got invited to look at cases for international intelligence services and police agencies from Belkasoft Evidence Center. Through this, the team realised that “merely investigating was not enough” and that cases of serious, life-threatening digital fraud could well have been stopped by an accurate anti-fraud and identity check. From this realisation came Sumsub’s user-friendly ID verification solution in the December of 2016.

From then, Sumsub has grown impressively, the startup releasing a range of other products whilst acquiring such impressive clients as Bitcoin.com, Exness and Blablacar.

During September of last year, Sumsub raised a whopping $6 million from a Series A, led by MetaQuotes. CEO and co-founder Andrew Sever was reported to comment the following on the round: “Around the world, thousands of global companies suffer from the overwhelming number of jurisdictions they conduct business in, from the differences and even variability of their requirements, making compliance and risks extremely difficult to manage and scale.”

“We solve the issue by presenting teams with a single solution to drive customer and enhanced due diligence from one place, customizing the onboarding flow to any jurisdiction or requirement. Most importantly, we consult and support clients on legal and compliance framework to make it fit the applicable laws. With MetaQuotes joining our renowned group of existing investors, Sumsub has the global support of the greatest strategists to disrupt the most promising segment in the present world economy — regtech.”