Onfido

Corporate brand

An identity technology company providing AI-assisted identity verification, fraud prevention, and background-check services.

Last updated August 31, 2026

AI crawler reads

No AI crawler has read this profile since Oct 28, 2026.

Overview

Onfido is a United Kingdom-founded identity technology company that provides digital identity verification and related compliance services to businesses. Its platform is designed to help organizations establish whether a person is using a genuine identity when signing up for or accessing online services. The principal verification workflow combines a government-issued identity document, a user-submitted facial image or video, and automated analysis using machine-learning techniques. The system can use optical character recognition, document analysis, facial detection, and biometric comparison to assess whether an identity document appears authentic and whether the person presenting it corresponds to the document holder. The company was established in 2012 by Husayn Kassai, Eamon Jubbawy, and Ruhul Amin, who had met while studying at the University of Oxford. The founders became interested in the problem after experiencing slow and largely manual identity checks while seeking employment in financial services. Their original objective was to replace lengthy manual processes with a technology-led service that could accelerate access to work and digital services, reduce fraud exposure for businesses, improve the applicant experience, and preserve privacy. Onfido launched after receiving seed support from the University of Oxford's Saïd Business School Seed Fund and initially sold to smaller businesses. Hassle.com became its first major customer in early 2013. Onfido initially concentrated on employment-related identity and background screening, particularly for companies hiring large numbers of staff and contractors. It later shifted more heavily toward financial services, online marketplaces, and e-commerce. These sectors use identity verification for customer onboarding, know-your-customer procedures, anti-money-laundering controls, fraud reduction, and access management. The company's offering has included identity-document verification, facial biometric checks, right-to-work checks, politically exposed person screening, sanctions screening, and criminal-record or other background checks, with the exact service mix varying by market and customer requirements. The business expanded internationally through offices and operations in North America, Europe, India, and Singapore. Its stated market rationale has included making remote onboarding available to people who may find in-person verification difficult, including new migrants and people with limited conventional credit histories. At the same time, identity verification is a sensitive area involving biometric information, government documents, and automated decision-making, making security, privacy, regulatory compliance, and model performance important aspects of the company's positioning. Onfido raised venture capital as it scaled, including a reported $4.5 million Series A round in 2015 and a reported $100 million financing round led by TPG Growth in 2020. On April 9, 2024, Entrust Corporation announced an agreement to acquire Onfido in an all-cash transaction valued at $650 million. The acquisition placed Onfido within Entrust's broader digital-security and identity portfolio. Onfido therefore remains an identity-verification brand associated with enterprise onboarding, fraud prevention, and compliance technology, while its ownership and strategic direction are linked to Entrust.

History

Onfido was founded in 2012 by Husayn Kassai, Eamon Jubbawy, and Ruhul Amin, three people connected through the University of Oxford. Kassai and Jubbawy had worked together in the university's Oxford Entrepreneurs society, and the founders later discussed creating a company after encountering slow identity-checking procedures associated with employment in financial services. Conventional checks could take several weeks and depended heavily on manual processing. Onfido's founding concept was to use software and machine learning to make identity checks faster, more scalable, and easier to complete remotely. The founders secured £20,000 in seed funding from the University of Oxford's Saïd Business School Seed Fund and launched the company in August 2012. Its first customers were smaller businesses, followed by Hassle.com, which became the company's first major client in January 2013. In the early phase, Onfido focused on identity and background checks for employers recruiting permanent employees and contractors. The company sought to combine document review, identity verification, and screening into a more streamlined digital process. Onfido raised a reported $4.5 million Series A round in February 2015. By April 2016, it had reportedly completed almost ten million identity and background checks. During this period, the company broadened its commercial focus. By September 2016, financial services and e-commerce had become more prominent target markets because online businesses needed scalable ways to meet know-your-customer and anti-money-laundering obligations while reducing fraud during account opening. The platform's identity workflow generally uses a photograph or scan of a government-issued document together with a selfie or other facial capture from a smartphone camera. Automated technologies can read document information through optical character recognition, inspect documents for signs of manipulation, detect faces, and compare the captured face with the identity document. Depending on the product and jurisdiction, Onfido has also offered background screening, right-to-work verification, politically exposed person checks, sanctions checks, and searches against other data sources. The company's business proposition has therefore combined customer convenience with risk controls and compliance support. Onfido expanded beyond the United Kingdom, with offices or operations reported in San Francisco, Albuquerque, New York, Lisbon, Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Singapore. Its international growth reflected demand from banks, fintech companies, marketplaces, recruitment businesses, and other organizations that onboard users without requiring face-to-face checks. The company also presented digital verification as a way to widen access to online financial services for people who may lack established credit histories, have recently moved countries, or cannot easily provide documents for an in-person process. In April 2020, Onfido raised a reported $100 million from TPG Growth. The funding supported the company's continued development and expansion in the digital identity market. On April 9, 2024, Entrust Corporation announced that it would acquire Onfido for $650 million in an all-cash transaction. The deal connected Onfido's identity-verification capabilities with Entrust's established security, authentication, and identity-management business. Since the acquisition announcement, Onfido has remained associated with enterprise digital identity verification and fraud prevention, although detailed post-acquisition leadership and operating arrangements are not specified in the supplied reference material.

2024
Entrust acquisition announced
[1]Onfidoen.wikipedia.org
Entrust announced an all-cash agreement to acquire Onfido for a reported $650 million.
2020
TPG Growth financing
[1]Onfidoen.wikipedia.org
Onfido raised a reported $100 million in a funding round from TPG Growth.
2016
Focus expands toward financial services and e-commerce
[1]Onfidoen.wikipedia.org
The company increasingly targeted sectors using remote identity verification for customer onboarding, regulatory checks, and fraud prevention.
2015
Series A financing
[1]Onfidoen.wikipedia.org
Onfido raised a reported $4.5 million Series A round to help expand the business.
2013
First major customer
[1]Onfidoen.wikipedia.org
Hassle.com became Onfido's first major client.
2012
Company founded and launched
[1]Onfidoen.wikipedia.org
Husayn Kassai, Eamon Jubbawy, and Ruhul Amin founded Onfido after identifying inefficiencies in manual identity checks. The company launched with seed support from the University of Oxford's Saïd Business School Seed Fund.

Products and positioning

An enterprise identity platform focused on remote customer and worker onboarding, combining document verification, biometrics, artificial intelligence, and compliance screening to reduce fraud and operational friction.

Digital identity verification
Onfido Identity Verification
A remote identity-verification service that assesses a government-issued identity document together with a selfie or other facial capture. Its workflow can use optical character recognition, document analysis, face detection, and biometric comparison to determine whether the submitted document and person appear consistent. The service is intended for digital onboarding, account access, fraud reduction, and customer due-diligence processes.
Background screening
Onfido Background Checks
A set of screening services for organizations evaluating workers, contractors, customers, or other applicants. The offering has included criminal-record checks and related verification services, as well as right-to-work, politically exposed person, and sanctions screening. Availability and scope can vary according to jurisdiction, data source, customer requirements, and applicable privacy and employment regulations.

Brand decisions

2024
Entrust agrees to acquire OnfidoM&A
Background
Entrust sought to expand its identity and security capabilities, while Onfido had established a technology platform for document, biometric, and remote identity verification.
Action taken
Entrust announced an all-cash agreement to acquire Onfido for a reported $650 million.
Aftermath
Onfido became part of Entrust's broader identity and security portfolio. Detailed post-acquisition organizational changes are not specified in the supplied sources.
Announced acquisition value. $650 million (2024 announcement)
Source
2016
Strategic shift toward regulated digital onboardingStrategy
Background
Onfido had initially concentrated on employment-related identity and background checks. Growing demand from financial services and e-commerce companies created an opportunity to apply its technology to know-your-customer, anti-money-laundering, and fraud-prevention workflows.
Action taken
The company increased its focus on financial services and e-commerce customers while continuing to provide identity and screening capabilities.
Aftermath
The shift positioned Onfido as a broader digital identity and customer-onboarding provider rather than solely an employment-screening business.
Source

Recent events

2024
Entrust announces acquisition of Onfido[1]Onfidoen.wikipedia.org
M&A
Entrust Corporation announced an all-cash acquisition of Onfido valued at $650 million, bringing the identity-verification company into Entrust's security and identity portfolio.
2020
Onfido raises $100 million from TPG Growth[1]Onfidoen.wikipedia.org
Other
Onfido raised a reported $100 million in a financing round led by TPG Growth as it continued international expansion in digital identity services.
2016
Onfido shifts emphasis toward financial services and e-commerce[1]Onfidoen.wikipedia.org
Other
The company increasingly targeted financial services and online commerce, where identity verification supports know-your-customer, anti-money-laundering, and fraud-prevention requirements.
2015
Onfido raises $4.5 million in Series A funding[1]Onfidoen.wikipedia.org
Other
Onfido completed a reported Series A financing round to support expansion of its identity and background-check business.

Sources13 sources

Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/onfido · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled