The Series D round valued Feedzai “at well above $1 billion.”

Powered by machine learning and AI, Feedzai is a cloud-based watchdog against financial crime. The financial risk management platform is used by the world’s leading financial institutions, payment providers, and merchants. The startup announced Wednesday its raise of $200 million in a Series D round led by KKR. Existing investors Sapphire Ventures and Citi Ventures also participated. The company also achieved unicorn status with this round, as its valuation scaled past the $1 billion mark. (Finovate)

The aggregate capital raised by Feedzai is now over $277 million.

Digitization the need of the hour

“Feedzai’s technology is the cornerstone of today’s commerce as consumers across the globe expect fast, reliable, seamless, and, above all, secure banking and payment experiences. The world has faster digitization requirements, and financial institutions need reliable solutions that thrive in this new digital environment in days, not months,” said Nuno Sebastiao, CEO and Chairman of Feedzai, in a statement.

According to the company’s data, in the last quarter of 2020 alone, consumers faced a 650% increase in account takeover scams, a 600% increase in impersonation scams, and a 250% increase in online banking fraud attacks compared to the first quarter in the same year.

“Feedzai was born to fight financial crime using advanced machine learning,” Sebastio said in a blog. “We’re passionate about cutting-edge technology, artificial intelligence, and contributing to the end of human suffering caused by fraud and money laundering.”

Feedzai counts some big names among its clients. These include financial institutions such as Citibank, Fiserv, and Santander, as well as fintechs such as SoFi and Mox by Standard Chartered.

Use of funds

Feedzai will use the funds to boost its global expansion and expand its product lineup and partner network.

“We’re ecstatic at the “future-proof” capabilities this new investment will bring our team, products, and cloud platform,” wrote Sebastiao. “This is how we’ll birth advancements to our recently revealed, award-winning ethical AI innovation, Fairband, along with other customer-centric technologies that strive to ensure frictionless financial services.”

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