SAN FRANCISCO, May 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Arkose Labs, provider of online fraud and abuse prevention technology, today raised a $70 million Series C funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2* with additional participation from Wells Fargo Strategic Capital and previous investors M12 and PayPal Ventures, bringing the total funding to $114 million to date.
Arkose Labs takes an approach that is unique in the industry to fighting fraud and cybercrime. Rather than being reactive and playing a constant game of whack-a-mole with attackers, Arkose Labs built its platform by first looking at how fraudsters make money by attacking digital platforms. By working backwards from that starting point and then implementing strategies to make it more difficult for fraudsters to profit from attacks, Arkose Labs undermines the economic drivers behind fraud until the perpetrators are compelled to abandon their attacks.
By combining real-time risk classification of traffic with interactive enforcement challenges, the Arkose Labs platform defeats automated attacks and roots out coordinated human-driven attacks. Targeted friction ruins attackers’ ROI, while allowing genuine users to pass with ease. Arkose Labs protects digital businesses worldwide and is trusted by global brands including Electronic Arts, Dropbox, Microsoft, PayPal, and Sony Interactive Entertainment.
“As more companies conduct business online, they become more vulnerable to online fraud. We believe Arkose Labs has cracked the code in fighting cybercrime, by making it financially non-viable for criminals,” said Nagraj Kashyap, managing partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers. “Last year Arkose Labs analyzed more than 15 billion online sessions, stopping 4.6 billion attacks and wasting 40 million hours of fraudsters’ time. The company’s unique approach to eliminating the rewards for criminals helps get at the true heart of the problem. We are excited to partner with Kevin and the Arkose Labs team to support their mission to eradicate fraud and cybercrime.”
“With Masa and the team at Softbank, we have a partner who matches our ambition for eradicating fraud online by means of disrupting the economic ROI for bad actors. At Arkose Labs, we are building a portfolio of capabilities that can adapt and respond based on the fraudsters’ techniques to ensure we are maximizing the impact to them whilst minimizing any form of friction to good users,” said Kevin Gosschalk, Arkose Labs founder and CEO.
Gosschalk added, “With Arkose Labs’ successful expansion in the financial services industry, this signifies a continued digital shift in banking, and requires a customer-centric approach that kicks the bad guys out of online operations, while maintaining the highest levels of convenience and usability that financial services operations require.”
“As the digital world continues to evolve at a rapid pace, it is necessary that the approach to combating online fraud balances protection with a seamless and pleasant customer experience,” said Basil Darwish, managing director for Wells Fargo Strategic Capital. “Arkose Labs addresses the root of the issue by diminishing the underlying financial incentives often associated with cyber-attacks. The company’s rapid growth is a testament to the effectiveness of their product philosophy, and we’re excited to see their next phase of expansion.”
The new round of funding will go toward platform development, new hires and global expansion.
Strong Performance
Arkose Labs continued to accelerate its growth since its Series B round was announced last year. Milestones included:
- Analyzed more than 15 billion online sessions in 2020, stopped 4.6 billion attacks and wasted 40 million hours of fraudsters’ time
- Doubled its headcount in 2020
- Opened its regional EMEA headquarters in London
- Committed to additional 2021 hires in North America, Australia and Europe
- Recognized by Gartner as a 2020 Cool Vendor
- Announced that the Sony Innovation Fund by Innovation Growth Ventures (IGV) made an investment in the company
- Key senior leadership hires included Mark H. Resnick (Chief Operating Officer & Chief Financial Officer), Ashish Jain (Chief Product Officer), Phil Steffora (Chief Security Officer & Vice President Information Technology), Patrice Boffa (Vice President Services) and Adrian Jenkins (Vice President Sales, EMEA)
About Arkose Labs:
Arkose Labs bankrupts the business model of fraud. Recognized by Gartner as a 2020 Cool Vendor, its innovative approach determines true user intent and remediates attacks in real time. Risk assessments combined with interactive authentication challenges undermine the ROI behind attacks, providing long-term protection while improving good customer throughput. Arkose Labs is based in San Francisco, Calif., with offices in Brisbane, Australia and London, UK. For more information, visit www.arkoselabs.com or on Twitter @ArkoseLabs.
Media Contact:
Paul Wilke
arkose@uprightcomms.com
+1-415-881-7995
**As of the date of this press release, SoftBank Group Corp. has made capital contributions to allow investments by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 (“SVF 2”) in certain portfolio companies. The information included herein is made for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy limited partnership interests in any fund, including SVF 2. SVF 2 has yet to have an external close, and any potential third-party investors shall receive additional information related to any SVF 2 investments prior to closing.