Element secures $12M funding round to support mobile biometric identity for social inclusion

Mobile biometric identity software developer Element Inc. has announced a $12 million Series A funding round, led by PTB Ventures and GDP Venture, which it will use to advance its goal of providing digital identity for financial and social inclusion.

Other contributors to the funding round include the venture capital units of Indonesia’s largest private bank, Bank BCA, micro-finance institution Bank BRI, Telkom Indonesia, and Maloekoe Ventures. PTB Managing Partner David Fields and GDP CTO On Lee will join Element’s Board of Directors.

“At Element, our mission is to deliver identity to the billions who need it, to help build more efficient and inclusive societies. The opportunity of digital transformation across Asia and Africa could not be more exciting” said Element Inc co-founder and CEO, Adam Perold. “We are humbled to join hands with this world class group of partners.”

Element says its end-to-end biometric solutions are being used to build global immunization platforms and enable connected diagnostics, as well as to provide digital identities for healthcare and financial services. The company’s software runs on any mobile device, and using the device’s camera, it can identify a user’s face, palm, and fingerprints to create a verified match.

“Identity inclusion is a precursor to financial and health inclusion” said David Fields, Managing Partner of PTB Ventures. “Element is a game-changer in turning any mobile device into an access point for identity. 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 a privilege to be working with an AI company tackling social problems that build both human and financial capital on a global scale.”

Element partnered with the Global Good Fund last year to develop a biometric ID tool for infants and children.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  Element  |  financial services  |  healthcare  |  investment  |  mobile