Telstra invests in mobile identity services company TeleSign
Telstra has today announced that it has made a strategic investment in TeleSign, a leading mobile identity and phone-based authentication services company.
TeleSign has pioneered mobile identity by creating mobile phone-based verification tools for online accounts. After entering their username and password, a user is asked for a one-time verification code which can be delivered via SMS, voice or mobile application to the handset. When this is successfully entered, access to the account is granted.
Many of the world’s largest companies use TeleSign to manage and maintain the integrity of their customer networks by detecting suspicious users before account creation, and protecting their existing users from account compromise.
Mark Sherman, Telstra Ventures Managing Director, explains how the digital revolution is pushing mobile operators to seek ways to unlock opportunities for consumers to use their mobile to complement their online presence, without being overshadowed by security concerns.
“The TeleSign solution brings additional security to data and identity, enabling a safe and confident service experience. We are excited to part of the journey as the company continues to expand globally,” said Sherman.
“We hope to be able to offer a range of mobile identity solutions from this innovative provider and we will work closely with TeleSign to explore opportunities to bring this technology to our own customers,” he added.
TeleSign’s technology has been embraced by industries such as banking, entertainment and eCommerce to establish their users’ mobile identity. TeleSign recently closed a USD$40 million Series B financing round, enabling the company to invest aggressively in new innovation and growth opportunities.
Steve Jillings, TeleSign’s CEO comments on how the relationship with Telstra will help accelerate growth in the Asia Pacific market enabling the company to leverage Telstra’s well established reputation and customer relationships.
“Companies are searching for simple-to-use, effective security solutions that can serve a global user base. This investment will allow us to work closely with Telstra, combining our expertise and their regional experience to better serve customer needs,” says Steve Jillings, TeleSign’s CEO.
“TeleSign has been very successful at making the internet a safer and more secure place by protecting businesses and users from fraud,” said Jillings. “We’ve doubled revenue every year for the last four years and with a host of new products being readied for launch, we expect that growth to continue. The Telstra investment gives us additional resources to innovate even faster and continue our global expansion as we move toward our goal of an IPO.”
TeleSign’s rapid innovation and highly reliable services have earned the trust of the world’s largest companies, protecting 3.5 billion accounts in more than 200 countries. TeleSign provides services to a global client base, including nine of the top ten US web properties and 20 of the top 25 globally.
About Telstra Ventures
Telstra Ventures invests in market leading, high growth companies that are strategically aligned with Telstra to offer high quality, new products and services to its customers. Based in Australia and Silicon Valley, Telstra Ventures works closely with quality entrepreneurs to build significant companies. Telstra Ventures is a corporate venture capital group founded in 2011 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Telstra Corporation.
About TeleSign
TeleSign is trusted by the world's largest web and mobile companies to prevent fraudulent accounts and stop account takeover. We protect more than 3.5 billion accounts in over 200 countries, offering our services in 85+ languages. TeleSign's Mobile Identity Platform combines phone-based verification with data to help businesses detect a suspicious user before issuing a new account and better protect existing users from account compromise.