ID.me Seeks $1.8 Valuation As ID Theft Threat Grows
ID.me is reportedly aiming for a $1.8 billion valuation in a share sale.
As Bloomberg News reported Tuesday (Oct. 8), sources close to the matter say the company itself is not selling the shares, but will let employees and early investors sell their shares. One of the sources say the deal marks an increase from the $1.73 billion valuation the online verification startup achieved in a funding round two years ago.
The tender offer began last week and is set to close Nov. 1, the report said. A source told Bloomberg that ID.me is also preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) next year, assuming favorable market conditions. The company’s revenue last year came to $130 million, that source said, with significant growth anticipated this year.
PYMNTS has contacted ID.me for comment but has not yet gotten a reply.
The Bloomberg report notes that the company was accused in 2022 by a pair of congressional committees of overstating the amount of fraud around pandemic-related federal funds while downplaying the delays caused by its processing of applications.
A company spokesperson told PYMNTS at the time that five states had credited ID.me with helping prevent $238 billion in fraud and that more than 80% of users were able verify their identity in less than 10 minutes.
As covered here last week, identity verification services have become increasingly important as the threat of identity theft grows.
Speaking with PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster, Bryan Lewis, CEO of Intellicheck, highlighted the major damage fraudsters can cause with just a few pieces of personal information.
“People don’t realize how easy it is to steal your identity,” Lewis said. “If I can get your social media account or your email, I can change everything about your life. I can change every password you have. I can ruin your reputation.”
He added that the cost of stealing an identity is disturbingly low, with criminals able to purchase names, addresses, Social Security numbers and emails for $30 to $40. Advanced technologies are vulnerable as well, because voice prints and facial recognition can be mimicked with artificial intelligence (AI), prompting banks to rethink using voice recognition to verify customers.
Lewis stressed the importance of robust defenses, adding, “if you can tell that a government-issued ID is real, that’s the most important step.”
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