Mobile Biometric Identity Startup Element, Inc Raises $12M in Series-A Funding

“The recently concluded funding round was led by PTB Ventures and GDP Venture, and featured the participation of multiple major banking and telecommunications firms in Indonesia and the Philippines.”

Element, Inc., a firm specializing in AI-powered mobile biometrics, has raised $12 million in a series-A funding round.

The startup’s aim is to offer AI-driven software for mobile devices to enable multimodal biometric identification, with an eye to providing identity services to individuals who lack official identification. Leveraging a standard smartphone camera, Element’s technology uses facial, palm, and fingerprint recognition. The company is focusing on delivering this solution to individuals in Asia and Africa.

The recently concluded funding round was led by PTB Ventures and GDP Venture, and featured the participation of multiple major banking and telecommunications firms in Indonesia and the Philippines. Commenting on his firm’s backing of Element in a statement, PTB Ventures Managing Partner explained, “With key partners spanning the banking, healthcare and telecom sectors, we believe that Element has the potential to transform the way billions of people access the essential services that are core to everyday life.”

It’s still early going for Element, so it isn’t yet clear exactly where and how its identity app will be deployed, but a look at its partners may offer some hints. Among the firm’s other backers is Telkom Indonesia, the country’s largest telecommunications carrier, suggesting one potential future avenue through which Element’s app lets citizens prove their identity; meanwhile, a partnership with the Global Good Fund is aimed at the development of a biometric identity program for infants.

Source: Element, TechCrunch

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April 13, 2018 – by Alex Perala