This startup is raising $7 million for a technology that can authenticate people based on their typing style

TypingDNA, a four-year-old startup that was founded in Bucharest, Romania and more recently moved its headquarters to Brooklyn, New York, looks to be raising $7 million in funding for something interesting: AI-driven technology that it says can recognize people based on the way they type, both on their laptops and mobile devices.

A new SEC filing that says the company — which graduated from Techstars NYC in late 2018 and early last year closed on €1.3 million in seed funding — has so far raised $5.25 million toward that goal.

Typing biometrics — the detailed timing information that describes exactly when each key is pressed and released as way to identify the unique person at the keyboard — is apparently not brand new. A two-year-old, PCWorld article says research in the field dates back 20 years. It also says that inaccuracies have kept the technology from being used as a widespread way to authenticate individuals. TypingDNA meanwhile asserts that the typing pattern recognition technology it has developed has an accuracy rate of between 99% and upwards of 99.9%.

The company’s previous backers include GapMinder Venture Partners, a venture outfit based in Amsterdam. We’ve reached out to cofounder and CEO Raul Popa to learn more, but judging by the filing, the fund backing this new round is Gradient Ventures, which is Google’s nearly three-year-old, AI-focused venture group.

When TypingDNA raised its seed round roughly 11 months ago, it said it planned to use the money to improve its tech and expand its presence in both the financial and enterprise sectors, where it’s been trying to strike partnerships with more companies that are focused on identity and fraud prevention.

According to the startup’s site, it has also been working with educational organizations to help ensure they’re giving the right students credit for the work they receive.