Onfido Acquired by Entrust in One of SEIS’s Greatest Successes

The identity verification startup Onfido has been acquired by US payments giant Entrust, with SFC Angel Network investors anticipating a 100x return from one of the decade's largest tech exits. This achievement has been honored as the ‘Exit of the Year’ by the UKBAA Awards. (Source IFA Magazine)

Founded in 2012 by Oxford students Husayn Kassai, Eamon Jubbawy, and Ruhul Amin, Onfido secured its first equity investment of £120k from the SFC Angel Network through SEIS after pitching at one of the initial SFC Crocodile Lair events in London. SFC’s CEO, Stephen Page, was among the angel investors and later joined the board.

Over the years, Onfido has emerged as a global leader in identity verification, utilizing a range of AI tools to combat identity theft and detect deep fakes, reportedly preventing over 6 billion USD in potential fraud.

Recently, Onfido was acquired by US payments giant Entrust in a landmark deal for the UK’s early-stage investment sector. This acquisition stands as one of the most significant tech exits in recent UK history and is the largest SEIS exit to date, surpassed only by Deliveroo’s IPO in 2021.

At the annual Angel Investment Awards by the UK Business Angel Association, Onfido received the prestigious ‘Exit of the Year’ award, sponsored by British Business Investments.

This exit marks a significant milestone for the SFC Angel Network, delivering remarkable returns on investment. Stephen Page, CEO of SFC Capital, described it as “one of the very best returns you can get in investing.”

Reflecting on the early days, Husayn Kassai recalls, “We were aiming to raise £150,000 to grow our business to £2 million in revenue by 2016. It was a bold goal, and although only a few investors initially showed interest, with one eventually dropping out, we still secured the investment needed to get started.”

At a time when angel investing was still relatively uncommon, the SFC Angel Network recognized the exceptional potential of Onfido’s founding team. Despite limited interest from the broader investment community, the network decided to back the three extraordinarily talented founders.

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