Pindrop Security Raises $35 Million

Pindrop Security, a startup focused on combating phone-based fraud, announced this week that it has raised $35 million in a Series B round of financing.

The Atlanta, Georgia-based company provides solutions that help detect and block phone-based fraud. The company explains that its “acoustical fingerprinting technology” can detect fraudulent calls and authenticate legitimate callers, helping customers reduce financial losses and operational costs.

The company also says its technology can verify the geographic origin of a call and the phone type based on audio analysis.

The company’s algorithms are based on research developed at the Georgia Tech Information Security Center.

Pindrop has also received grants from the National Science Foundation SBIR program, GRA’s VentureLab and funding from the Technology Association of Georgia.

Institutional Venture Partners (IVP) led the round with reinvestment from existing investors Andreessen Horowitz, Citi Ventures, Felicis Ventures, Redpoint Ventures and Webb Investment Network.

“This additional investment will enable us to expand operations globally while continuing to serve our current customers with excellence,” said Vijay Balasubramaniyan, Ph.D., co-founder and CEO, Pindrop Security. “As the clear leader in the market, Pindrop is establishing the standard for how enterprises secure the call center.”

“Large financial institutions have traditionally invested heavily to protect themselves against physical and online attacks but now the bad guys have moved to the phone channel. This phone-based crime costs companies billions of dollars, which has made the demand for Pindrop products incredibly high,” said Paul Judge, Ph.D., executive chairman and co-founder, Pindrop Security.