UK’s B2B Supply Chain Verification Co. Detected Nets $323,000

Business verification platform Detected, which was founded during the pandemic, has closed a pre-seed funding round with £250,000, featuring contributions from numerous prominent investors, according to a report from U.K. Tech News (UKTN).

Detected’s services will let buyers and sellers trade “with confidence,” using data points to look into the location of the buyer or seller — along with their identity, solvency and capability — in a speedy manner.

The insights, which are automated, will be refreshed by the month, which does away with the need for updating the information by hand, the report states.

As the world has moved toward more digital means of shopping, the process of verifying identities has become more important to customers, a recent PYMNTS survey found.

The survey found that there are likely to be around 25 billion connected smart devices in use by late 2021, and those businesses which utilize “engaging” identity verification processes are the most likely to build trust.

And the survey cites statistics that an overwhelming number of North American and European consumers expect their digital transactions to be frictionless, secure and quick.

Liam Chennells, chief executive officer for Detected, spoke of the project’s goals and said he was pleased with how things had been going thus far.

“I am proud of what this group of people have achieved in such a short space of time, and all during a global pandemic. On the day we founded our company, we set our sights on the ambition that Detected would be involved in more than 50% of all B2B transactions by 2024. We have the team, technology and the early investors to continue our momentum towards that goal.”

Former COO at RBS Rob Barnett, who is the current Managing Director of Southern Water, led the round, along with former Manhattan Associates MD and current CEO of EV Cargo Craig Sears-Black, and Carl Hartmann of Lyre’s Spirit Co., alongside a former managing director of Citigroup and strategic partners in Europe, the Middle East and APAC, the report states.