Magic ID, a London-based platform enhancing trust in business-individual interactions, has raised €350K in a pre-seed funding round. SFC Capital and Presto Ventures led the investment, with SFC Capital contributing €175K, Presto Ventures investing €120K, and an additional €55K from unnamed angel investors.
Milan Lupac, a Partner at Presto Ventures, commented, “Presto is always keen to support startups offering solutions we’d use ourselves, and Magic ID fits that criterion.”
Lupac shared personal experiences of being hindered in completing Know Your Customer (KYC) processes due to not having a passport or other required information, a problem Magic ID resolves.
He also noted the increasing demand for reusable identity solutions in various sectors, including those traditionally favoring anonymity, like social networks, which are increasingly moving towards user verification.
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Funding Usage
Magic ID streamlines the Know Your Customer (KYC) process, providing advantages for both businesses and users.
Already testing with four beta clients in the UK and engaging in two enterprise-level proof of concepts in the telecom and financial services sectors, the startup intends to use the new funding to introduce its Magic ID product range in the UK and EU markets.
The investment will also aid in expanding their team and furthering research and development efforts to improve their unique decentralized identity infrastructure.
Mandaltsis, a co-founder of Magic ID, remarked, “We see Presto Ventures as a partner that aligns with our vision of a privacy-centric, inclusive future.”
He described the pre-seed funding as not just a financial boost, but a strategic alliance with innovators eager to develop the next generation of digital identity solutions.
Linking Businesses with Individuals Eager to Connect
In 2023, Thanasis Mandaltsis and Aariffa Hajamaideen founded Magic ID, a digital assistant that forges trust between businesses and individuals without needing previous interactions.
The firm, compliant with GDPR, is an identity network crafted to streamline the sharing of identity verification credentials among organizations while maintaining data protection standards.
The Magic Network encompasses three core elements:
- AI-driven tools for identity verification, supporting over 2,500 global identity documents.
- Digital IDs enabling easy mobile transactions sans passwords or identity wallets.
- A privacy-centric marketing platform that enables businesses to connect with pre-verified customers, offering special identity-based rewards while keeping sensitive information exposure to a minimum.
To ensure data security, the company Network employs cryptographic methods, limiting data exposure until transactions are fully processed.
Overview of Magic ID Co-Founders
The founders of Magic ID, with their rich experience in scaling startups and leading technology in large enterprises, united at the Y Combinator Startup School.
Thanasis Mandaltsis, CEO, brings seven years of operational experience in startups. As an early member of Onfido, he was instrumental in securing significant enterprise sales deals and spearheaded the creation and implementation of Onfido’s Self-Sovereign Identity product. This product was successfully trialed in the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority sandbox in 2019. Before Magic ID, Mandaltsis led decentralized identity initiatives in the enterprise blockchain sector.
Aariffa Hajamaideen, serving as the CTO of Magic ID, is dedicated to developing impactful digital products that ensure a safe and inclusive digital landscape. With a background in leading technology teams and managing large-scale projects in data, analytics, and integration within the financial services sector, Hajamaideen left her financial services role to fulfill her ambition of creating significant digital products, leading to the co-founding of Magic ID.
