StartX has contributed to a $20m series A round for UnifyID, the operator of an authentication platform that has now secured $23.4m.

US-based authentication technology developer UnifyID raised $20m in a series A round on Monday from investors including Stanford University’s StartX Fund. The round was led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and also included Andreessen Horowitz and Accomplice Ventures. UnifyID has created an authentication platform that relies on sensors built into everyday devices and uses machine learning to identify users based on more than 100 unique characteristics such as the way they walk, sit and type. It requires no manual input from the user. The money will allow UnifyID to grow its headcount with a view of expanding enterprise trials, accelerating research and strengthening the company’s market leadership. Scott Sandell and Forest Baskett, general partners at NEA, will join UnifyID’s board. Stanford-StartX, Andreessen Horowitz and Accomplice Ventures previously injected a total of $3.4m in seed funding into UnifyID. John Whaley, founder and chief executive of UnifyID, said: “Our goal is seamless security: you can be yourself and the devices and services you interact with will naturally recognise you based on what makes you unique. “Since 2015, UnifyID has been using a combination of signal processing, optimisation theory, deep learning, statistical machine learning, and computer science to solve one of the oldest and most fundamental problems in organised society: how do I know you are who you say you are?”

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