Prove

High-Level Overview

Prove is a New York-based technology company specializing in mobile and digital identity verification and authentication solutions for a connected, mobile-first economy.[1][2][5] It offers a Phone-Centric Identity™ platform that processes over 20 billion customer requests annually for more than 1,500 enterprise clients across banking, lending, healthcare, gaming, crypto, e-commerce, and payments, reducing friction, fraud, and costs while enhancing security and privacy.[1][3][5][6] Key products include Prove Pre-Fill® for faster onboarding (up to 79% reduction in time), Prove Identity® for phone-based verification without documents or selfies, and Prove Auth® for passwordless authentication, serving businesses in 195 countries with a registry of over 1 billion identity tokens.[3][4][5]

Founded in 2008 and formerly known as Payfone, Prove has raised $261.3M in funding (latest $40M round two years ago), employs around 320-400 people across four offices, and generates approximately $84M in revenue, demonstrating strong growth in digital trust infrastructure.[1][2][6]

Origin Story

Prove was founded in 2008 as Payfone in New York, New York, initially focusing on mobile authentication amid the rise of smartphones and digital transactions.[1][2] The company rebranded to Prove to emphasize its expanded mission of providing the "modern way of proving identity" through phone-centric solutions that leverage device, network, and user data for seamless verification.[2][4][5] Early traction came from addressing fraud in mobile banking and payments, evolving into a comprehensive platform as businesses shifted to digital onboarding and servicing.[1][6] Pivotal moments include scaling to 1,000+ enterprise customers, processing billions of events yearly, and innovations like Prove Pre-Fill, which in 2023 alone supported 47 million new accounts and saved U.S. consumers nearly 30 million minutes.[5][6]

Core Differentiators

Prove stands out in the identity verification market through these key strengths:

• Phone-Centric, Frictionless Authentication: Uses passive cryptographic methods tied to phone possession, eliminating passwords, OTPs, selfies, or document scans for up to 79% faster onboarding and real-time fraud prevention.[1][4][5]
• Comprehensive Platform Coverage: End-to-end solutions from verification (Prove Identity™), authentication (Prove Auth™), to pre-filling forms (Prove Pre-Fill® with built-in KYC), managing identities across channels for servicing and payments.[3][4][5]
• Scale and Trust: Handles 1 billion+ identity tokens and 20 billion+ annual events, trusted by 9/10 top U.S. banks and 1,500+ companies globally, with bank-grade encryption and privacy focus.[1][5][6]
• Proven Impact: Reduces operating expenses, fraud losses, and consumer drop-off while accelerating revenue; competitors like Socure and Veriff offer similar AI-driven tools but lack Prove's phone-first emphasis and token scale.[2][6]

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

Prove rides the wave of digital transformation toward passwordless, mobile-first economies, where fraud costs exceed $5 trillion annually and consumers demand seamless experiences across banking, e-commerce, and fintech.[1][5] Its timing aligns with rising regulatory pressures (e.g., KYC/AML) and the explosion of crypto, gaming, and faster payments like Zelle, enabling non-intrusive risk assessment at scale.[2][5][6] Market forces favoring Prove include the shift to biometric/phone-bound auth over vulnerable passwords and the need for privacy-preserving tech amid data breaches; it influences the ecosystem by powering equitable digital transactions for 1 in 2 U.S. adults and setting standards for frictionless trust in high-stakes sectors.[3][6]

Quick Take & Future Outlook

Prove is poised for expansion with ongoing innovations like enhanced Prove Pre-Fill for zero manual entry and deeper AI integration, targeting accelerating adoption in financial services, gaming, and emerging markets.[2][5] Trends like zero-trust architectures, Web3 identity, and global regulatory harmonization will propel its growth, potentially doubling token management as mobile transactions surge. Its influence may evolve from verification leader to foundational digital identity layer, enabling broader ecosystem trust and revenue acceleration—proving, quite literally, that phone-centric identity is the future of secure, user-friendly tech.