Digital identity network startup ID.me Inc. has raised $100 million in new funding to build out its secure digital identity network by expanding the number of businesses and government agencies it serves.

The Series C round was led by Viking Global Investors and included Counterpoint Global (Morgan Stanley), PSP Growth, Lead Edge Capital, CapitalG, WndrCo, Willoughby Capital, BoxGroup and Moonshots Capital. The round was raised on a valuation of $1.5 billion, giving ID.me unicorn status for the first time.

Founded in 2010, ID.me offers a digital identity network designed to enable consumers to prove their identity or group affiliation across multiple websites. Serving the same purpose as physical identification, the company uses bank-grade encryption to keep personal information safe while giving full control to individuals over what information is shared.

For businesses and government, ID.me offers identity proofing, authentication and group affiliation verification. In offering a secure identification service, companies and government can verify identification across a variety of use cases such as for medical credentials, know your customer account opening, Servicemembers Civil Relief Act compliance and more.

Not surprisingly when it comes to startups in 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic has played a role in ID.me’s growth, driving a massive digital migration to many critical services. The company noted that many of these services require a trusted identity to ensure an individual is whom they claim to be while keeping out fraud.

ID.me isn’t the first company to operate in this market, but it’s well-placed to establish a digital identification network given its numbers. The company said it has 39 million members and is signing more than 70,000 new users every day.

Through to March 20, ID.me claims to have prevented 1.2 million fraudulent claims from international and domestic criminals, saving taxpayers more than $24 billion. More than 22 states have contracted with ID.me since Aug. 1 and the company also includes federal agencies and more than 400 leading companies among its customers.

Notable agencies and customers included the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the United Services Automobile Association, LinkedIn Inc., Fanatics Inc. and Lenovo Group Ltd.

“ID.me is simplifying how individuals securely prove and share their identity online,” Blake Hall, founder and chief executive officer of ID.me, said in a statement. “What Visa did for financial transactions, we are doing for identity with our secure digital identity network. ID.me empowers people to fully control their own data through a portable and trusted login so they don’t need to create a new password at each site they visit.”

Including the new funding, ID.me has raised $155.2 million to date, according to Crunchbase.

Image: ID.me