Fraud detection startup Simility bags $17.5 Mn from Accel, PayPal and others

Simility, a cloud-based fraud prevention software solution that combines the power of machine learning and human evaluation has raised $17.5 million in its series-B round of funding led by Accel Partners.

The fresh funding round also saw participation from existing investors The Valley Fund and Trinity Ventures, while US-based payments giant PayPal joins as a new strategic investor in the Hyderabad and Palo Alto-based startup.

The firm will use the funds to expand its partner network, sales, partnerships, customer success and data science teams.

The current round raises the total funding the company has received to $25 million.
“This latest funding round will enable us to enter our next phase of growth by bolstering our team in sales, customer success and data science to meet market demand,”  said Rahul Pangam, CEO, Simility to ET.

“Digital disruption in the financial and commerce sectors has resulted in the need for a fraud and risk management solution that goes beyond legacy, static rule-based offerings to offer protection in a digital first, big data analytics-focused environment, " he added.

Also Read: Thirdwatch leverages AI to prevent fraud for e-commerce companies

Incorporated in 2014 by Uttam Phalnikar, Kedar Samant, and Rahul, Silimity provides a highly scalable cloud-based platform that protects SMBs and enterprise clients from the most sophisticated types of fraud.

It also empowers fraud analysts to quickly adapt to fraudsters’ evolving tactics – all without having to write code.

So far the company has secured three seed rounds. In August 2015, it raised a $3.45 million seed round led by Accel Partners and raised $2.25 million two months later. The latest funding was done in June 2016, when the startup raised $1.5 million, bringing the total to $25 million, including the current round.

In October, artificial intelligence (AI) driven e-commerce fraud prevention startup ThirdWatch raised an undisclosed funding in an angel round led by lead investor Rahul Agarwalla from the Indian Angel Network.