B-Secur raises $4.6M in funding for ECG biometric authentication technology

B-Secur has raised £3.5 million (US$4.6 million) in an early-stage funding from a syndicate of UK and Ireland’s investors, to further develop its ECG biometric technology which leverages an individual’s heartbeat pattern to securely authenticate identity.

As an internal biometric, ECG authentication can reduce hacking or spoofing risks for greater security and convenience. The technology has the potential to move beyond first-generation modalities of fingerprint, iris or voice.

B-Secur is currently working in the UK, Ireland and US to serve customers across many sectors including automotive, financial services, access control, smart cities and buildings, with the semiconductor industry at the core of its technology development process.

“This announcement underscores the growing demand from organisations to provide better security to their customers in this digital world, amid an escalation in high-profile cyber attacks,” said B-Secur CEO Alan Foreman. “I believe that our ECG authentication technology is crucial to supporting this global challenge. “We are thrilled to gain the backing of ADV, Kernel and others which will drive us to grow significantly in the next 12 months and continue to invest in world-class science and engineering in Northern Ireland and beyond.”

Some of the UK’s largest finance firms participated in the funding round, including Accelerated Digital Ventures (ADV), the investment company backed by insurance firm Legal & General, fund manager Woodford Investment Management, and the British Business Bank (BBB).

“B-Secur’s technology harnesses the unique power of the human heartbeat to unlock everything from finance to healthcare, from cars to buildings,” Michael Dimelow, head of Investment for ADV, said. “ADV is excited to be supporting B-Secur as they deploy their market-leading patented software across all forms of devices including mobile and wearables.”

Kernel Capital also participated in the funding round, which manages the Bank of Ireland Growth Funds with investors including Bank of Ireland, Invest NI, and New York State Common Retirement Fund.

Headquartered in Belfast, Ireland and leveraging a strong partnership with Queen’s University Belfast’s CSIT department, B-Secur is seeking to expand the company on a global level.

B-Secur was previously named one of Gartner’s global Cool Vendors for 2016.

Article Topics

B-Secur  |  biometrics  |  continuous authentication  |  ECG  |  funding  |  heartbeat biometrics