Pre-seed bump for EU, UK expansion closed for selfie biometrics startup Magic ID

A London startup selling biometric ID verification has announced closing a €350,000 (US$438,670) pre-seed funding that will be used to expand on both sides of the English Channel.

SFC Capital (contributing €175,000 — $219,340) and Presto Ventures (€120,000 — $150,400) led the investment in Magic ID, according to trade publication Silicon Canals.

CEO Thanasis Mandaltsis comes from digital ID vendor Onfido. Mandaltsis is credited with leading the effort to create Onfido’s self-sovereign ID software.

Magic‘s software service is in closed beta testing and executives are guarding virtually all information about it. Executives say they are accepting new beta participants, promising “early adopter benefits.”

The company’s product will be marketed at businesses and individuals. It offers a single API for integration through which businesses could access a selection of AI verification checks, including face biometrics matches to ID documents with liveness detection.

Magic executives have posted multiple price schedules that allow for month-to-month plans.

An ID verification covering 2,500 documents, including some historical versions, from 195 countries will run £1 ($1.25). A check against anti-money laundering (AML) and sanctions lists will be £0.65 ($0.81). And an eKYC check, with no image capture or document number will run £1 and verify full names, birth dates and street address.

One anticipated niche will be unicorn scale-ups, but conventional startups could be a market as well, according to information on Magic’s site.

Article Topics

biometric liveness detection  |  biometrics  |  funding  |  identity verification  |  Magic ID  |  selfie biometrics