EyeVerify sells to Alibaba affiliate for more than $100M
September 13, 2016 | Bobby Burch
In what represents one of the metro’s most notable exits in the last decade, Kansas City-based startup EyeVerify announced Tuesday that it has been acquired.
Ant Financial — the payments affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding — purchased EyeVerify for more than $100 million, according to an unnamed local source familiar with the deal.
Ant Financial started using EyeVerify’s biometric security tool in early 2016. Valued at about $60 billion, Ant Financial boasts about 450 million customers, offering services such as online payments, peer-to-peer lending, wealth management and more, Bloomberg reports.
Led by CEO Toby Rush, EyeVerify created the “EyePrint ID,” which transforms a selfie of a user’s eye into a biometric security key. It’s used by millions of people around the world to access mobile banking or other secured information.
Founded in 2012, EyeVerify has 35 staffers, has raised $13 million to date and was named a Top 10 Startup to Watch in 2016 by Startland News.
Now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ant Financial Services Group, EyeVerify plans to stay in Kansas City after the deal, according to the firm. Current employees and the executive management team will also remain with the firm.
The exit is an unequivocal win for Kansas City. Not only will founding team members likely see a nice payout, but so too will EyeVerify’s local investors. Local investors in EyeVerify include Mid-America Angels, Women’s Capital Connection, Think Big Partners, Flyover Capital, Sprint and other private investors.
“Mid-America Angels and the Women’s Capital Connection are proud to have identified EyeVerify as a promising business opportunity and participated in this deal from its earliest stages,” a spokeswoman with MAA said. “We congratulate Toby and his team on years of hard work, and look forward to celebrating this timely victory for Kansas City during Techweek.”
Check back in later for more on this breaking story.
2016 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Recap: Bill would gut Kansas Bioscience Authority
A bill in the Kansas legislature if passed would dissolve the Kansas Bioscience Authority, which has recently served as a venture capital organization investing in early-stage bioscience firms. The measure — SB 305 — would shut down the organization and transfer its funds and obligations to the Kansas Department of Commence. Proponents of the KBA say…
Kansas City named a top tech locale
Kansas City again was touted as a top tech destination. Tech publication PC Magazine recently named Kansas City as one of “13 high-tech cities you’ll want to call home.” The magazine noted Kansas City’s access to Google Fiber, its low cost of living and communities such as the Kansas City Startup Village as reasons to…
Flow Forward Medical raises additional $1.3M
Flow Forward Medical boosted its latest funding round to further develop its device that helps improve outcomes for hemodialysis patients. The Olathe-based company closed a $1.3 million round of additional Series A financing led by the Kansas Bioscience Authority. Flow Forward previously raised $4.4 million, bringing its total funding raised to date to about $5.7 million.…
Schukman: 5 reasons why KC is the capital of social entrepreneurship
Take a walk in Kansas City’s startup scene and you’ll quickly hear something about KC’s devotion to becoming America’s most entrepreneurial city. This mantra is on everyone’s lips, from city leaders to corporate tycoons to scrappy startup founders. It’s amazing that in five years our city has created such clarity of purpose that millenials populating…