Illuma adds strategic financing to boost voice biometrics innovation, market reach

Illuma Labs has followed its $9 million funding round from 2024 by securing strategic financing from Stifel Bank to put towards faster voice biometrics product innovation and expanded market reach, according to a company announcement.

The company also plans to allocate funds to strengthening its support for financial institutions of all sizes in protecting interactions with consumers.

St. Louis-headquartered Stifel Bank made the commitment after researching Illuma’s proprietary voice biometric customer authentication technology, and its impact on mid-market financial institutions. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Our tech and operations teams went through deep due diligence and have been highly impressed with the quality and simplicity of Illuma’s offerings, which address a critical gap for mid-market FIs,” says Nick Elsenpeter, SVP for venture lending and banking at Stifel Bank.

Illuma CEO Miland Borker called the financing deal “an exciting milestone” for his company as it scales. “The support from Stifel underscores the growing demand for frictionless security solutions that reduce operational costs while enhancing consumer trust,” he says. “With this financing, we are well-positioned to expand our capabilities and further solidify our leadership in the market.”

The announcement notes that Borker holds 21 patents and has published 14 technical papers.

The $9 million funding round announced last September was a series A, led by LiveOak Ventures, which like Illuma is based in Texas.

Since then, Illuma won “Best in Show” at 2024 FinovateFall for the capability of its voice biometrics technology to detect deepfakes.

Article Topics

biometric authentication  |  biometrics  |  financial services  |  fraud prevention  |  funding  |  Illuma Labs  |  voice biometrics