Persona — Startup Profile
Configurable identity verification platform for KYC, KYB, fraud prevention, and Know Your Agent — used by OpenAI, LinkedIn, Block.
HQ: San Francisco, CA, USA | Founded: 2018 | Funding: ~$417.5M | Website: https://withpersona.com
About
Persona (legal name Persona Identities, Inc.) is a San Francisco-based identity verification and digital trust platform founded in 2018 by Rick Song (ex-Square engineer) and Charles Yeh (ex-Dropbox engineer). Its modular, no-code platform gives businesses building blocks to securely collect, verify, manage, and act on identity information across KYC, KYB, AML compliance, age assurance, workforce IDV, background checks, fraud prevention, and Know Your Agent (KYA). The platform covers 200+ countries and 20+ languages, processing verifications via government ID, Document AI, selfie liveness/recognition, database checks, phone/email risk, mobile driver's licenses, and NFC. Platform tools include Dynamic Flow (configurable verification flows), Workflows, Graph (link-analysis fraud detection), Case management, Data Explorer, Persona Assistant (AI copilot), and Persona Marketplace. Persona serves customers including OpenAI, LinkedIn, Block/Square, Etsy, Twilio, Lyft, Reddit, Coursera, Figma, Brex, Rippling, Gusto, Payoneer, Dapper Labs, and 3 of the Fortune 5. It was named a Leader in the 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Identity Verification (highest Ability to Execute, 3rd consecutive year), achieved FedRAMP Moderate Authorization (May 2026), and has detected 75M+ AI-driven face spoof attempts. The company employs roughly 600-713 people and has offices in San Francisco and New York.
The Take
Persona has quietly become the identity verification platform of the AI era. Founded in 2018 by ex-Square engineer Rick Song and ex-Dropbox engineer Charles Yeh, it raised a $200M Series D from Founders Fund and Ribbit Capital at a $2B valuation in April 2025 (total funding ~$418M). Its configurable, no-code identity platform handles KYC, KYB, AML, age assurance, fraud prevention, and now Know Your Agent (KYA) for the agentic AI wave. Customers include OpenAI, LinkedIn, Block/Square, Etsy, Twilio, Lyft, Reddit, Coursera, Figma, Brex, and 3 of the Fortune 5. Persona processed 300M+ verifications in 2024, detected 75M+ AI-driven face spoofs, and was named a Leader in the 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Identity Verification for the second consecutive year (highest Ability to Execute, 3rd year running). It achieved FedRAMP Moderate Authorization in May 2026, opening U.S. federal agencies. The moat is configurability — modular building blocks that let any business tailor verification flows — plus deep AI-fraud detection as deepfakes and synthetic identities explode.
Key Metrics
- Latest Valuation: $2B (post-money, Series D)
- Last Round: $200M Series D, led by Founders Fund + Ribbit Capital, April 30, 2025
- Total Funding: ~$417.5M across 5 rounds
- Revenue/ARR: ~$100M ARR (2025, third-party estimate from GetLatka; not audited)
- Verifications Processed: 300M+ in 2024 (company disclosed); ~1B identities verified cumulative (company site)
- Employees: ~600-713
- Founded: 2018
- CEO: Rick Song (Co-Founder)
Funding Rounds
- Round: Undisclosed (2018-11) — First Round Capital (+ Coatue as existing)
- Round: $17.5M (2020-01-28) — Coatue + First Round Capital; angels: Zach Perret & William Hockey (Plaid), Dylan Field (Figma), Scott Belsky (Behance), Tony Xu (DoorDash)
- Round: $50M (2021-05-04) — Index Ventures (Mark Goldberg joined board); participation from Coatue
- Round: $150M (2021-09-15) — Founders Fund; participation from Meritech Capital, BOND, Index Ventures, Coatue, Insight Partners
- Round: $200M (2025-04-30) — Founders Fund + Ribbit Capital (co-led); participation from BOND, Chemistry, Coatue, First Round Capital, Index Ventures
Key People
- Rick Song
- Charles Yeh
- Christie Kim
- Evelyn Ju
- Alex Yen
- Ross Freiman-Mendel
- Casper Rijnsdorp
Key Competitors
- Onfido (now Entrust Identity Verification) —
- Sumsub —
- Veriff —
- Socure —
- Trulioo —
Timeline Highlights
- 2026-10: Mobile driver's license + Vision Mode ship
- 2026-09: Deepfake research partnership + AI fraud checks
- 2026-08-04: Leader in 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for IDV
- 2026-05-19: FedRAMP Moderate Authorization achieved
- 2026-04-21: AstraSync KYA infrastructure partnership
- 2026-03-11: Launches Candidate Verification
- 2026-01-26: KYA framework for agentic commerce published
- 2025-04-30: $200M Series D at $2B valuation
- 2024: Okta Workforce Identity partnership; 300M+ verifications
- 2023-11: Visa partnership interview; 200+ employees
- 2021-09-15: $150M Series C at $1.5B valuation led by Founders Fund
- 2021-05-04: $50M Series B led by Index Ventures
- 2020-01-28: $17.5M Series A led by Coatue + First Round
- 2018-11: Seed round
- 2018: Persona founded
Recent News
- Persona raises $200M at $2B valuation to build the verified identity layer for an agentic AI world (2025-04-30)
- Persona Attains FedRAMP Moderate Authorization Status (2026-05-19)
- Persona Named a Leader in 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Identity Verification (2026-08-04)
- Persona Launches Candidate Verification to Stop Hiring Fraud Before Day One (2026-03-11)
- Building Know Your Agent: The Missing Identity Layer for Agentic Commerce (AstraSync partnership) (2026-04-21)
- Persona and University at Buffalo map how selfie fraud actually happens (beyond 'deepfake') (2026-09-15)
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