In a significant development for India’s digital security landscape, Hyderabad-based identity verification startup Equal has secured $10 million in Series A funding, achieving an $80 million valuation. The round was led by Prosus Ventures and Tomales Bay Capital, with participation from the company’s founder, Keshav Reddy.
The funding comes at a crucial time when India faces mounting challenges in digital fraud prevention, with government estimates suggesting cyber fraud could amount to 0.7% of the country’s GDP—approximately $14 billion—within the next year. Equal’s platform addresses these concerns by integrating with over 50 identity databases and supporting more than 64 million monthly transactions.
Founded in 2022 by Keshav Reddy, scion of the GVK family, and former Swiggy engineering director Rajeev Ranjan, Equal has quickly established itself as a key player in India’s identity verification sector. The startup has already attracted an impressive client roster of 350 large corporate customers, including major institutions like State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and tech giants such as Reliance Jio, Airtel, Uber, and Zoom.
The investment round attracted notable participants from India’s business elite, including Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal, Adani Group’s Karan Adani, Cred’s Kunal Shah, and JSW Cements’ Parth Jindal. Institutional investors Blume Ventures, DST Global, Quona VC, and Gruhas VC also joined the round, demonstrating strong confidence in Equal’s potential to address India’s growing digital security challenges.
Equal’s platform stands out in the market through its comprehensive approach to know-your-customer (KYC) processes, fraud prevention, and regulatory compliance. The company boasts a remarkable 97% KYC processing success rate and has positioned itself as an aggregator that collaborates with competitors to provide more comprehensive solutions. This strategic approach has helped Equal capture a significant share of India’s background verification market, which is projected to reach $940 million by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 16.42%.
The startup plans to utilize the fresh capital to scale operations, forge strategic partnerships, and develop a comprehensive framework for enhancing India’s data-sharing ecosystem. Equal is building three major technology stacks catering to different sectors: banking and financial services, employment verification, and consumer technology. The company’s recent strategic investment in OneMoney, an account aggregator platform, further strengthens its position in the consent-driven financial data sharing space.
“With this fundraise, and our partnership with OneMoney, we are committed to creating an ecosystem where every Indian and business can confidently take control of their data, fostering a more equitable and empowered digital future for India,” stated Keshav Reddy, highlighting the company’s vision for the future.
Equal’s success in securing significant funding and achieving a substantial valuation demonstrates the growing importance of digital identity verification solutions in India’s rapidly evolving digital landscape. As the country continues to embrace digital transformation, Equal’s innovative approach to combining identity verification with secure, consent-based data sharing positions it well to address the critical challenges of digital fraud while supporting the government’s regulatory requirements for secure digital transactions.
The startup’s growth trajectory and strong market position suggest it could play a pivotal role in shaping India’s digital security infrastructure, potentially establishing new standards for identity verification and fraud prevention in the world’s second-largest internet market.
