McLean, Va.-based Numeracle, which has built a technology platform to authenticate voice calls, has raised $6.8 million in its first round of known funding, according to a listing on Crunchbase.
Founded by Rebekah Johnson, a longtime advocate of transparent outbound communications, Numeracle’s investors were not listed. Johnson is also the founder of Enterprise Communications Advocacy Coalition, which represents business interests with regulators, and the nonprofit Professional Association for Customer Engagement.
“I realized very quickly that I was the only person in this ecosystem that was correlating what the carriers and the FCC [Federal Communications Commission] were doing to stop fraudulent calls with the impact it could, and would, have on legal businesses,” Johnson said in an interview published on Numeracle’s website. “I was far more than motivated. This life chose me and it felt like it was my responsibility to do this.”
“What has affected enterprises the most comes from an indirect impact to them based on the regulations directed at voice service providers, like the TRACED Act,” Johnson said, referring to the 2019 legislation to curb unsolicited calls. The act is centered around Know Your Customer (KYC) through a Robocall Mitigation Plan to implement STIR/SHAKEN, a suite of protocols to stop spoofing of caller identities in calls.
At Numeracle, Johnson has built what the company calls Verified Identity, which offers a single point of visibility and control for calls. It helps call originators verify their status as a legal caller, attaching so-called Rich Call Data elements, such as a name and logo, to calling campaigns. It also allows aggrieved callers to respond to improper blocking and labeling of their calls.
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Numeracle’s system also provides Know Your Customer-based local solutions to vet entities and raise attestation levels for enterprise calls. Its platform is in use by over 400 companies to secure over half a million phone numbers.
Johnson’s expertise in government and regulatory affairs began with a stint as solutions engineer for Mobile, Ala.-based West Corp. Before founding Numeracle, she served on the FCC’s Robocall Strike Force, represented the Empowering Consumer Choice Working Group. In 2023, Johnson joined the board of the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions.
“Solving the practical challenges of consumer-facing communications with an identity-centric approach has been my mission since day one,” Johnson said, ahead of her joining the ATIS board.
