Fingerprint is a device intelligence company that empowers companies to stop online fraud at the source. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Fingerprint co-founder and CEO Dan Pinto to learn more about the company.
Dan Pinto’s Background
What is Pinto’s background? Pinto said:
“I have always had an entrepreneurial drive, even from a young age. When I was in middle school, I got into video game botting, where I would automate gameplay to collect valuable in-game items I could sell. Botting is what initially got me interested in computer science and engineering.”
“During high school and college, I pursued various entrepreneurial endeavors, each with its own level of success. Since these businesses required me to build websites, I learned a lot about search engine optimization (SEO). This SEO knowledge eventually led me and a friend to co-found Machinio, a search engine for used industrial machinery that connected buyers and sellers in that niche market, back in 2013. We grew the company successfully until it was acquired by Liquidity Services Inc. in 2018.”
Formation Of Fingerprint
How did the idea for Fingerprint come together? Pinto shared:
“My co-founder, Valentin Vasilyev, initially built Fingerprint as an open-source side project called FingerprintJS in 2012. When I met Valentin in 2013, I hired him as Machinio’s first software engineer. After his time at Machino, Valentin built Fingerprint’s open-source project into a SaaS business, and I decided to be part of his incredible product once I saw the software. I came on as Fingerprint’s CEO and co-founder in early 2020.”
Favorite Memory
What has been your favorite memory working for the company so far? Pinto reflected:
“My favorite memory was finally meeting the entire company in Mexico City for our first all-company off-site in early 2023. Having worked remotely with many Fingerprint employees for years, being able to meet them face-to-face was an experience nothing short of wonderful. We created great shared memories while exploring the city and participating in fun activities together. After the success of the first off-site, we plan to hold this event annually. We already have one scheduled for early 2024 for the entire company.”
Core Products
What are the company’s core products and features? Pinto explained:
“Fingerprint is a device intelligence platform with a range of intelligence capabilities to detect and prevent fraud — even when a browser is incognito. We have 99.5% accuracy in identifying devices. Fingerprint’s innovation offers extended identification lifetimes by associating historical, behavioral and biometric data sources with users over years rather than days. We use our proprietary Smart Signals in conjunction with our visitor identification capabilities to provide deeper insight into anonymous visitors.”
“Our platform collects over 70 identification signals, including VPN detection, IP blocklist matching, raw device attributes, browser bot detection and geolocation. Each signal enhances an organization’s ability to target specific use cases, such as account takeover or payment fraud. With the fraud identification confidence provided by Smart Signals, businesses can deliver a frictionless, positive experience for trusted visitors.”
Challenges Faced
What challenges/bottlenecks has Pinto faced in building the company? Pinto acknowledged:
“Despite the increasing sophistication of fraudsters, competing priorities have made many companies — especially legacy solutions — slow to adopt new technologies and fortify their existing systems. These delays leave them vulnerable to preventable security breaches. Fraud prevention is an essential tool in today’s environment.”
Evolution Of Fingerprint’s Technology
How has the company’s technology evolved since launching? Pinto noted:
“Fingerprint is committed to continuously enhancing the platform to stay ahead of constantly evolving fraud techniques. Since launching, we’ve remained focused on delivering a product that is easy to integrate and provides instant value to our customers via API and extensive documentation through continuous platform updates and enhancements.”
“Additionally, our Smart Signals capabilities break away from the common practice of relying on outdated browser and platform signals and instead use advanced statistical learning and extensive research to deliver an unprecedented level of accuracy, revolutionizing the field of identity products. We will keep pushing boundaries to ensure our customers have technology that evolves faster than the threats they face.”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of the company’s most significant milestones? Pinto cited:
“Fingerprint has achieved several notable milestones. Since 2020, we’ve raised several rounds of funding, including a $4 million Seed round, $8 million Series A, $32 million Series B, and most recently, a $33 million Series C.”
“This year we launched our highly accurate Smart Signals, a set of signals not used in legacy fraud prevention solutions, enabling us to further differentiate ourselves from our competition. Our open-source library also recently hit a huge milestone – surpassing 20,000 stars on GitHub, showcasing the developer community’s immense support for our solutions.”
“Additionally, Fingerprint Pro achieved SOC 2 Type II attestation – a gold standard for data security compliance that instills further trust within our customers. We also obtained ISO 27001 certification, highlighting our comprehensive information security management protection.”
Customer Success Stories
After asking Pinto about customer success stories, he highlighted:
“Fingerprint helped Indian fintech startup Uni Cards tackle a surge of credential abuse and account takeovers, saving them over 6.5 million Indian Rupees (more than $78,000 USD) in monthly fraud losses. Attackers exploited Uni Cards by tricking its customers into sending their one-time passwords (OTPs) to steal sensitive customer data, like credit card and CVV numbers.”
“Uni Cards used Fingerprint to add an additional layer of identification on top of their fraud tech stack. Fingerprint’s unique identifier enabled the company to block devices linked to more than one user and distinguish fraudulent actions and genuine device IDs. As a result, Uni Cards reduced the amount of account takeover attempts and monthly fraud costs. This new security allowed Uni Card to launch a wave of new products, propelling them toward further growth and securing their future against any potential attacks.”
Funding
After asking Pinto about the company’s funding information, he revealed:
“This past October, we raised $33 million in Series C funding led by Nexus Venture Partners with participation from Uncorrelated Ventures, bringing Fingerprint’s total funding to $77 million.”
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates the company from its competition? Pinto affirmed:
“Our uncompromising commitment to accuracy and ease of integration sets Fingerprint apart in the fraud prevention and device identification space.”
“As a company founded on years of research, we recognize accuracy is everything in this industry. Our persistent identifier technology achieves an industry-leading 99.5% accuracy rate in identifying returning visitors, even as browsers and devices change. Smart Signals elevate Fingerprint’s core identity capabilities to provide a true device intelligence platform for safeguarding a company and its customers. Our unique identifiers last longer than others on the market, enabling businesses to develop a more comprehensive understanding of their users, leading to personalized services, improved risk assessment and better fraud detection capabilities.”
“Our solutions are built with developers in mind. They are straightforward to implement and integrate. We provide extensive documentation and a wide selection of SDKs for seamless integration across platforms. Fingerprint saves engineers significant time and resources and allows them to focus on innovating.”
“These core areas of focus have powered our growth. Leading brands trust Fingerprint solutions to secure their digital assets and stop fraud in its tracks while preserving seamless user experiences. Our recent $33 million Series C attests to our market-leading position. As the fraud landscape grows more complex, we remain committed to pushing the boundaries of accuracy and ease of use for our customers worldwide.”
Future Company Goals
What are some of the company’s future company goals? Pinto concluded:
“Following our recent funding round, we are focused on accelerating adoption within larger Enterprise customers, which have been a critical driver of the company’s recent growth. Additionally, we’re building new tools and capabilities to help our customers tackle the most complex challenges in device identification.”
