Israel's anti-fraud fintech Riskified reaches unicorn status with $165m fundraising

Israel’s anti-fraud fintech Riskified reaches unicorn status with $165m fundraising

Written by Ruby Hinchliffe
7th November 2019

Ecommerce fraud prevention fintech Riskified has reached unicorn status with a Series E funding round worth $165 million.

Led by global growth equity firm General Atlantic, the capital injection moves the Israeli start-up past a $1 billion evaluation.

Riskified aims to open an office in Shanghai

The fintech’s AI-powered solution allows merchants to distinguish legitimate customers from fraudulent ones, with a chargeback-guarantee model which supposedly gives sellers “risk-free revenue growth”.

Before the end of this year, Riskified aims to open an office in Shanghai alongside its Tel Aviv and New York offices, as well as use the funding to expand its product portfolio and market reach.

Founded in 2012, the firm has raised a total of $228.7M in funding over six rounds. Previous investors have included Pitango Venture Capital, Qumra Capital, and Kreos Capital.

“Riskified began as a new and unproven approach to fraud prevention and payments,” says its co-founder and CEO Eido Gal. “Achieving success required merchants to believe in our vision and partner with us. Today’s announcement is a testament to those partnerships and the leadership position we attained in this important market.”

The new funding round also saw participation from multinational financial services corporation Fidelity Management & Research and growth equity investment firm Winslow Capital, alongside Riskified’s existing backers.

Investors are confident the fintech trumps legacy fraud and risk management solutions with its machine-learning approach.

“Riskified is the rare blend of realised performance and considerable potential,” says General Atlantic’s technology sector MD Tanzeen Syed. “The company’s innovative model has enabled it to deliver significant ROI to its customers and partners, with a clear runway ahead for strategic expansion of its geographic footprint, product offering, and consumer base.”