ID.me closes tender offer valuing firm at $1.8B in year full of wins

ID.me has closed a recent tender offer that valued the firm at $1.8 billion, climbing from a $1.78 billion valuation two years ago. Bloomberg reports that new investor Ribbit Capital led the transaction, with participation from existing investors Viking Global Investors and CapitalG.

In a release from ID.me, CEO Blake Hall says the firm’s “rapid growth trajectory and user adoption have been recognized by esteemed institutional investors” and that the transaction highlights its “market-leading outcomes of expanding digital access, protecting privacy, fighting fraud, and ensuring frictionless user experience.”

The valuation puts ID.me on an upward curve toward the top tier biometrics and digital ID firms. Clearview AI’s most recent valuation puts it at $225 million. Idemia Smart Identity, the French firm’s biometrics and digital ID arm, is said to be nearing a sale for $1.1 billion. As of fall 2024, Clear Secure’s enterprise valuation was around $2.8 billion. NEC Corporation, meanwhile, is worth about $23 billion.

Deloitte Technology Fast 500 caps off banner year

ID.me has posted several major wins in 2024. It reached 135 million users for its digital wallet, representing over 50 percent of U.S. adults. Of those, 62 million are verified to the federal standards of identity assurance level 2 (IAL2) consumer authentication.

ID.me has been adding on average more than 60,000 new users daily, driving revenue growth by 370 percent from 2020 through 2023. Those numbers put it at 315 on the Deloitte Technology Fast 500, a ranking of the 500 fastest-growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences, fintech, and energy tech companies in North America.

ID.me has partnerships with 15 federal agencies, 40 agencies in 30 states and over 600 retailers, and is, per the release, the only digital wallet that meets the NIST IAL2 federal standards for secure login and multi-factor authentication, while offering online, video chat, and in-person pathways for identity verification.

It has also ventured into the live event space, partnering with the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadum in Atlanta to integrate secure identity verification into the event-ticketing platform to crack down on bot purchases.

Inside sources report that ID.me is gearing up for an initial public offering in 2025.

“ID.me is designed to be the last login you need to create and the last identity verification you complete,” says CEO Hall. “With the ID.me Identity Wallet, users can verify their identity once and easily sign in with all organizations that accept ID.me. Solving these consumer pain points helps brands drive higher conversions and revenue while lowering costs. It also empowers government agencies to improve customer service, ensure privacy, prevent fraud, and expand digital access.”

Lead investor aims to bring finance into the digital future

Major investor Ribbit Capital, which “aims to transform the world of finance by backing visionary entrepreneurs,” says ID.me is “uniquely positioned to build a safe, reusable identity wallet that simplifies consumer experiences while solving complex pain points across a growing range of industries and use cases.”

It has invested in dozens of fintech startups, including Coinbase, Robinhood and Solana.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  digital ID  |  digital wallets  |  funding  |  ID.me  |  investment