RegTech startup Thirdfort has snared £1.5m in fundraising as it seeks to ramp up product development.
The funding round was raised from existing investors, with Cazoo and Zoopla founder Alex Chesterman, law firm Mishcon de Reya, R3 founder David Rutter and former NatWest CEO Chris Marks, among others, raising the capital.
The funds raised will also be doubled via a convertible loan from the government as a part of its Future Fund programme.
To date, the company has raised total funds of £4.2m. In August 2020, Thirdfort raised £1m from a seed investment round.
Thirdfort is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and markets a web and mobile app that combines document scanning, facial recognition technology and open banking to streamline identity and source of funds checks carried out during legal and property transactions.
The anti-money laundering specialist claims it will use the recent funding to support its continued expansion in the legal and property markets. Furthermore, the company referenced the recently introduced Digital ID standard by the UK government as an example of where the funding will support product development and innovation.
According to Thirdfort, it has grown rapidly off the back of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent acceleration of law firm digitisation. It claims its technology is now used to remotely onboard over 30,000 clients every month, which is a ten-fold increase on its numbers pre-pandemic.
Thirdfort co-founder and managing director Olly Thornton-Berry said, “We’re using cutting edge technology to help lawyers and property professionals minimise fraud risk, whilst improving the client experience during life’s big moments.
“These tools have the backing of regulators, Government bodies and a growing number of firms, and our objective is for Thirdfort to become the new standard in legal security, as well as expanding into adjacent markets such as the estate agent and mortgage space. That means building better products and doing so faster than ever, and we’re delighted that some of the UK’s leading angel investors support this strategy.”
Chesterman added, “My passion in business is for solving problems, and the team at Thirdfort has developed a product that tackles an issue affecting hundreds of thousands of us each year – the cumbersome process of buying and selling homes.
“This hasn’t changed for decades and is ripe for transformation, particularly around the compliance aspects that affect not just consumers and their lawyers, but also agents, brokers and lenders. We also see huge scope to develop what the platform can offer to the wider legal profession, and I’m delighted to support the team as they continue to grow from strength to strength.”
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