PixelPin secures 1-5m funding to advance image-based authentication

The new funds will be used to target new customers in the retail and finance sectors, as well as support continued product development

PixelPin, a UK-based startup, has reportedly secured a £1.5m pre-Series A round of funding for its image-based authentication technology that replaces passwords with pictures.

Sources with knowledge on the matter informed that the investment round was led by SBI Investment, subsidiary of SBI Holdings previously known as Softbank Investment. SBI Investment poured in £1m from the SBI AI and Blockchain Fund, while additional investment of £500k was received from present Angel investors, bringing it to total of £1.5m.

Seemingly, PixelPin is FIDO-certified and will utilize its new funds to target new customers in the retail and finance sectors, as well as support continued product development. Along with this, the funding is being utilized to set up new offices in Tokyo to act as a base for the company’s expansion into Japan and the broader Asian market.

Sources said that the cloud-based platform of the PixelPin, which is hosted on Microsoft Azure, replaces PINs and passwords for a personal, user-friendly and highly secure means of logging into online accounts for shopping, banking and other uses.

Instead of memorizing pins or passwords users can choose a picture and four precise points on that picture that must be chosen in sequence for logging into their online accounts.

Reportedly, the platform of PixelPin has a remarkable success rate, as it takes on an average just 10 seconds for a user to login and one minute to register. It has a 92% login success rate which is three times higher than passwords (30%).

The solution from PixelPin generates a highly personalized and easy-to-use login experience that will be mainly popular with a tech-savvy younger generation, sources commented. The platform performs without compromising on security and is also recognized as more secure than using passwords.

After this round of funding, PixelPin’ boasts of $4.5 million in total funding received till date, which has facilitated its development globally with partnerships across Europe, Americas, and Asia.