1Kosmos raises $57M to advance passwordless authentication and global identity security expansion
Identity proofing and passwordless authentication company 1Kosmos Inc. announced today that it had raised $57 million in new funding for product innovation, to expand global sales and to deepen integrations with leading identity and security platforms to meet growing demand for identity-first, passwordless authentication.
Founded in 2018, 1Kosmos offers identity security that fuses biometric identity proofing with passwordless multi-factor authentication built on blockchain technology to protect and streamline digital access. The company offers a unified platform, across its Verify, Workforce and Customer offerings, that is designed to transform how organizations verify identity and authenticate access.
The company’s first offering, 1Kosmos Verify, offers organizations self-service identity proofing during onboarding and leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning to analyze government-issued IDs, passports, or driver’s licenses with more than 99% accuracy. The process is app-less, privacy-conscious and supports web-to-mobile handoff for document capture.
For enterprise access, 1Kosmos Workforce replaces brittle passwords and fragmented multi-factor authentication systems with a secure passwordless experience. Supporting FIDO2, passkeys, biometrics, LiveID and QR codes, the offering works across Windows, Mac, Linux and virtual private networks to deliver adaptive, risk-based authentication and features like “register once, use anywhere” via a hardware-based 1Key.
The company’s third offering, 1Kosmos Customer, allows enterprises to modernize customer onboarding and authentication through a digital identity wallet that users control. The wallet enables verified, biometric-backed access while reducing fraud, lowering operational overhead and fostering brand confidence. The platform also emphasizes privacy by design, with personally identifiable information encrypted and stored in a permissioned blockchain, ensuring users govern their data while streamlining compliance and auditability.
The Series B round was led by Forgepoint Capital and Oquirrh Ventures, with Craig Abod, founder and president of Carahsoft Technology Corp., NextEra Energy Ventures, Gula Tech Adventures and the 1Kosmos management team also participating. The round also included a $10 million line of credit from Bridge Bank N.A.
“Identity has become the first step in the kill chain. This investment allows us to strengthen the proactive controls organizations need to prevent impersonation-based attacks, whether it’s a sophisticated hacking group or a state-sponsored developer hiding in plain sight,” said Hemen Vimadalal, chief executive officer of 1Kosmos. “1Kosmos identity verification is the only practical solution that can be quickly deployed in a matter of hours to effectively combat this threat.”
