Prelude, a Paris-based startup providing fraud-resistant SMS verification solutions, has secured €7.6 million in seed funding. Led by Singular and Seedcamp, the investment will support Prelude’s expansion across Europe and North America and enhance its platform to offer mobile-first onboarding services.
Founded in 2022 by Matias Berny and Quentin Le Bras, Prelude was inspired by the founders’ experiences at Zenly, a location-based social network later acquired by Snap Inc. While at Zenly, Berny and Le Bras encountered high SMS verification costs, with up to 30% of their budget lost to fraud, a widespread challenge among verification providers. Prelude’s solution addresses these issues by acting as an independent broker that identifies cost-effective routing options, reducing verification costs for clients by an average of 40%.
Matias Berny, Founder and CEO of Prelude said: “We’re determined to tackle SMS fraud at its core and use our experience to go beyond SMS verification. Onboarding conversion is one of the toughest challenges in driving growth, and that’s the problem we aim to solve for our customers. We’re building new services to help them master user onboarding, trust, and retention.”
Prelude’s technology has been used to protect over 100 million user accounts across 230 regions and is relied upon by enterprise clients across sectors such as social services, finance, travel, retail, and food technology. Among these clients is Sunday, a global payment solution for restaurants.
“Operating across Europe and North America with international customers, we needed a solution that could keep up with our global reach while maintaining competitive prices—our previous provider fell short. With Prelude, we’ve completely transformed our messaging strategy. Now, we send OTPs worldwide effortlessly, with full visibility into deliverability and conversion rates. Plus, their responsive support team is always ready to help, ensuring we stay on track,” noted Arnaud Lemaire, CTO of Sunday.
The fresh capital will allow Prelude to further innovate, broadening its services beyond one-time password verification and expanding its mobile-first onboarding tools. The company aims to empower businesses to streamline user verification, onboarding, and engagement.
Read the orginal article: https://www.eu-startups.com/2024/11/paris-based-prelude-raises-e7-6-million-to-expand-fraud-resistant-sms-verification-services/
