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Youverify

“Can an Africa-born AI-native compliance platform outcompete global KYC incumbents (Sumsub, Onfido) on the strength of superior EMEA data coverage and agentic AI workflows?”

Founded2018
HQSan Francisco, California, USA (with offices in Lagos, Nigeria and Côte d'Ivoire)
FoundersGbenga Odegbami
Total raised$5.3M
Latest roundPre-Series A, 2024
IndustryInfrastructure / KYC
The story

Founded 2018 in Lagos as an identity verification API for African banks and fintechs, Youverify has evolved into a full FRAML (fraud + AML) compliance operating system spanning KYC/KYB, sanctions screening, transaction monitoring, and case management. The 2024 Elm investment marked a strategic pivot toward MENA markets alongside continued Africa dominance. In 2026 the company launched Youverify Cowork with Vyra AI — an agentic-AI compliance copilot — repositioning from a checks-based verification vendor to an AI-native compliance workspace competing with Sumsub and Onfido.

Last 12 months
2026
2024-03
Product timeline
2018
Founded in Lagos as an identity verification company for African banks and startups· pivot
2020
Raised $1.5M seed round· funding
2022
Extended seed to $2.5M; expanded real-time business verification to 145 jurisdictions across 48 countries· product
2023
Launched in South Africa at MFSA 2023; transitioned from consumption-based to subscription pricing· product
2024
Raised $2.5M pre-Series A led by Elm (Saudi Arabia) for MENA expansion· funding
2026
Launched Youverify v2.0 (Cowork FRAML platform) with Vyra AI compliance copilot· product
The stack
0 layers disclosed in Youverify’s embedded-finance stack
Accounting gap: none