Payments company Entrust Corp. has reportedly entered an agreement to acquire British identity verification and authentication startup Onfido Ltd. for a sum possibly as high as $650 million, according to multiple reports today.

TechCrunch said the deal has been signed and the acquisition price was “well above” $400 million, while Reuters said it’s close to being signed for $650 million. Officially, the company itself is only saying that it has entered into exclusive discussions to acquire Onfido. That news was offered to SiliconANGLE under embargo for Feb. 7, but the news has moved on from then.

Founded in 2012, Onifido offers an automated digital identity verification platform designed to simplify digital identity. The company makes it easy for people to access services by digitally verifying them using its Real Identity Platform.

The platform allows businesses to tailor verification methods to individual user and market needs in a no-code orchestration layer, combining document and biometric verifications, trusted data sources and passive fraud signals to meet their risk, friction and regulatory requirements.

Onifido claims more than 1,200 business users globally. Notable customers include Luno Technologies LLC, DocuSign Inc., Millennium Bank, Union Bank N.A., Orange S.A. and Bunq B.V.

Should the acquisition go ahead, Entrust plans to add Onifido’s compliant artificial intelligence and machine learning-based biometric and document identity verification tech stack to its portfolio of identity solutions. The acquisition would bring the technology from both companies together to provide enhanced identity-based solutions that enable more trusted and secure interactions at scale for people, enterprises, and institutions.

“With the emergence of AI-based attacks, the identity verification game has changed. Deepfakes and synthetic identity are driving a global need for a powerful level of identity assurance that facilitates crucial digital journeys in banking, finance, government, travel and more,” Todd Wilkinson, president and chief executive of Entrust, said in a statement. “Step-up authentication using biometric-based, AI-driven identity verification will be critical to ensuring security, privacy, and trust in these high-value digital-first interactions.”

Coming into its acquisition, Onifido has raised $242 million in venture capital funding, according to Tracxn, including rounds of $30 million in September 2017 and $100 million in April 2021. Investors include TPG Growth LLC, Microsoft Ventures Inc., Salesforce Ventures LLC and Crane Venture Partners.

Photo: Onfido