Parisian Startup Prelude Secures €17.2 million in Series A Funding to Expand its Onboarding and Trust Infrastructure Platform

Prelude, a Paris-based platform specializing in onboarding and trust infrastructure, has successfully raised €17.2 million ($20 million) in a Series A funding round. This funding round was spearheaded by 20VC, with support from Singular, Seedcamp, Deel, and FDJ Ventures. Notable angel investors, including industry experts like Steffen Tjerrild, Willem Delbare, and Antoine Le Nel, also contributed to the funding.

Paul Bonnet, General Partner at 20VC, commended Prelude for addressing the challenges faced by companies in phone verification, such as fraud and lack of customer support. He highlighted how Prelude’s innovative approach has helped companies reduce verification costs, enhance user conversion, and improve overall user experience.

Founded in 2023 by Matias Berny and Quentin Le Bras, Prelude offers a comprehensive solution that combines telecom data, behavioral signals, and machine learning to enable continuous trust decisions. The platform helps companies combat fraud, optimize user conversion, and streamline their verification processes.

Prelude’s unique approach tackles the hidden costs associated with broken onboarding processes, including inflated SMS bills, user abandonment, and post-fraud repercussions. By bundling various tools into a single platform, Prelude has been able to deliver significant cost savings and efficiency improvements to its clients.

Matias Berny, co-founder and CEO of Prelude, emphasized the importance of continuous trust decisions in today’s digital landscape. He highlighted the significance of phone numbers as a reliable anchor for user verification and underscored the role of Prelude’s technology in enhancing user trust and security.

Prelude’s innovative platform, which leverages telecom data, device intelligence, and network signals, allows companies to move beyond one-time verification processes and make informed trust decisions throughout the user lifecycle. The company has recently launched two new products, Auth API and Intel API, to further enhance its offerings and provide real-time carrier intelligence to clients.

Quentin Le Bras, co-founder and CTO of Prelude, highlighted the evolving nature of trust infrastructure in onboarding processes. He emphasized the need for continuous trust checks and the challenges posed by bots, synthetic identities, and AI agents. By integrating multiple signals and data sources, Prelude aims to help companies navigate these challenges and establish a robust trust framework.

With a significant growth in revenue and customer base, Prelude is poised for expansion and innovation in the trust and onboarding space. The company’s recent funding will support its transition into a full-stack trust platform, enabling seamless digital onboarding experiences for clients worldwide.

Having secured substantial funding from investors, including Singular and Seedcamp, Prelude is focused on expanding its global partnerships, enhancing its technology infrastructure, and scaling its services to meet the growing demand for secure onboarding solutions. With a strong emphasis on machine learning and real-time trust decisions, Prelude is set to revolutionize the way companies approach user verification and trust management.