PixelPin, the UK startup is replacing passwords with pictures using image-based authentication, has just closed a £1.5m pre-Series A funding round.
The round was led by SBI Investment, formerly Softbank Investment, who invested £1m. The additional £500k came from existing Angel investors, bringing it to £1.5m in total.
PixelPin will use the new funds to target new customers in finance and retail, as well as continue product development and establish new offices in Tokyo.
Hosted on Microsoft Azure, PixelPin’s is a cloud-based platform replacing passwords and PINs. The platform is a highly secure, personal and user-friendly means of logging into online accounts for banking, shopping and more, replacing passwords and PIN for a picture and four specific points on that picture which users must selected in sequence to login to online accounts.
It takes just 10 seconds on average for a user to login and only one minute to register. The platform has a 92 per cent login success rate which is three times higher than for passwords (just 30 per cent).
“This latest round of investment is a fantastic step forward for PixelPin and illustrates the level of confidence the global investor community has PixelPin and the UK fintech industry,” said the CEO and co-founder of PixelPin; Geoff Anderson.
“We’ve been extremely diligent in our search for the right investor partners and are delighted that SBI Group has chosen to work with us as we look to expand our reach into Japan and the wider Asian market where we’re sure the group’s knowledge and experience will be a huge asset.”
Yoshitaka Kitao, representative director, President & CEO of SBI Holdings said; “For everyone who has been locked out of their online banking for guessing their logins one too many times it’s clear that the passwords and PINs we’re forced to use aren’t fit for purpose”.
This latest round brings PixelPin’s total funding to $4.5m, facilitating international expansion, with partnerships across Asia, Europe and the Americas.
