Transmit Security Raises $543M To Aid Passwordless Adoption

Identity and access management vendor Transmit Security has snagged a $2.2 billion valuation and plans to grow its workforce over the next year to drive more adoption of passwordless technology.

Transmit Security has notched a $2.2 billion valuation and plans to double its headcount over the next year to drive more adoption of passwordless technology.

The Tel Aviv and Boston-based identity vendor plans to take advantage of its record-setting $543 million Series A funding to double its 240-person headcount by aggressively expanding its sales, marketing, services, and development teams, said Co-Founder and President Rakesh Loonkar. The round was led by Insight Partners and General Atlantic, which both have experience supporting more mature companies.

“It [the round] comes down to simple demand,” Loonkar told CRN. “The markets really reward growth rates; they don’t really reward being profitable.”

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Transmit expects for the first time to have $100 million of annual recurring revenue (ARR) this year, and would like to eventually hit the $500 million ARR mark, according to Loonkar. The company was founded in 2014, and emerged from stealth in January 2017 with $40 million of self-financing. Transmit works with big financial institutions like MassMutual, Citibank, UBS, Santander, JPMorgan Chase, and TIAA.

The company’s executive and director-level hires will be weighted toward Transmit’s go-to-market organization to support channel and international expansion, Loonkar said. Solution providers today account for 40 percent of Transmit’s sales, with financial services organizations based in North America contributing much of the company’s direct business, according to Loonkar.

Transmit plans to use to proceeds to expand beyond the basics of a channel team and release a formal partner program, said Loonkar, who declined to disclose how many solution providers the company currently works with. The company is most interested in reseller, MSSP or referral partners that have access to and relationships with customer-focused application owners that seek better security.

From a geographic standpoint, Loonkar would like to see Transmit go from having 35 percent of its business outside of North America today to at least half in the long run. Loonkar said Transmit is building up broadly across Europe, and also has a strong presence in Asia-Pacific markets such as Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan.

As far as technology is concerned, Transmit plans to use the proceeds to enhance the development of all its existing products as well as spend money on innovations. The company’s products include: BindID portable authentication using biometrics; FlexID to manage authentication, fraud detection, and access controls; and WorkID passwordless workstation login and single sign-on.

Accenture has been working with Transmit for more than three years, and would like to see the company use proceeds from its Series A funding to strengthen its technology and market awareness, according to Rex Thexton, senior managing director at the company, No. 1 on the 2021 CRN Solution Provider 500.

From a technology standpoint, he would like to see Transmit continue to invest in product engineering for a seamless user experience as well double down on integrations to ensure the company’s products fit into third-party hardware stacks. As for market awareness, Thexton would like to see the company do more events, launch marketing campaigns, and drive client adoption to provide additional case studies.

“Passwordless is the way to go, and Transmit’s technology seems to be pretty strong at this point,” Thexton told CRN. “We’re very excited about what they’re doing.”