FinTech AI Startup Feedzai Raises $200 Million At $1 Billion Valuation

FinTech artificial intelligence (AI) firm Feedzai raised $200 million in a Series D funding round that gives the Silicon Valley startup a valuation topping $1 billion.

“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,” Nuno Sebastiao, chief executive officer (CEO) and chairman of Feedzai said in a press release on Wednesday (March 24). 

The funding was led by KKR with participation from existing investors including Sapphire Ventures and Citi Ventures. The new capital will help Feedzai continue its global expansion and enhance its product offerings.

Feedzai’s AI and machine learning (ML) technology helps banks, financial institutions (FIs), and other companies in the payments space prevent fraud, money laundering, and other types of cyberattacks. Financial crimes are on the rise, with account takeover scams up 650 percent, and digital banking fraud attacks up 250 percent in the last quarter of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019, according to Feedzai data released earlier this month.

“The world has faster digitization requirements, and financial institutions need reliable solutions that thrive in this new digital environment in days, not months,” Sebastiao added. 

The company recently introduced Feedzai Solutions to help level the playing field in the financial services landscape by making the latest technology available to FIs of all sizes.

Its Responsible AI framework was recently recognized by FinTech Breakthrough for fraud prevention innovation and ensuring that Fairness, Accountability, Transparency, and Ethics (FATE) have a role in decision-making.

“Feedzai offers a powerful solution to one of the biggest challenges we are facing today: financial crime in the digital age,” said Stephen Shanley, managing director at KKR. “Global commerce depends on future-proof technologies capable of dealing with a rapidly evolving threat landscape. At the same time, consumers rightfully demand a great customer experience, in addition to strong security layers when using banking or payments services.”

In a PYMNTS interview, Pedro Barata, senior vice president of product at Feedazi, said the pandemic has created “the perfect storm for payments fraud.”