Averon has raised $20.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
Averon's investors include 7percent Ventures, Avalon Ventures, B Capital Group, Firstminute Capital, Founder Collective, Goat Capital, Harrison Metal, L Catterton Growth, Lowercarbon Capital, Mosaic Ventures, Social Starts, SV Angel.
Averon was a San Francisco-based technology company specializing in digital identity verification for mobile and online security. It developed Direct Autonomous Authentication (DAA), a passwordless solution using real-time mobile network signals from SIM/eSIM chips to enable instant, frictionless user authentication without additional software or user effort.[1][2] Targeting sectors like financial services, e-commerce, and telecommunications, Averon served businesses aiming to reduce fraud, cart abandonment, and cybersecurity risks while boosting online revenues and transaction security.[1][2] The company raised $15.72M in funding but ceased operations in October 2020, marking it as a "dead" startup despite early promise.[1]
Founded in 2015 and formerly known as Cloudwear, Averon emerged from a need for seamless mobile authentication amid rising cyber threats.[1] Leadership included CEO and Chairman Wendell Brown, backed by a team of experts from MIT, Harvard Business School, Stanford, USC, Cornell, NSA, Israel Defense Force, PayPal, and Microsoft.[1] A pivotal moment came in July 2020 with an $8.3M Series A round led by Avalon Ventures, after operating quietly for nearly two years; this funded scaling of DAA, touted as the world's first fully automated mobile security platform live on all US carriers.[1] Early partnerships, like the 2019 global launch with tyntec for Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America, highlighted initial traction before shutdown.[2]
Averon rode the passwordless authentication trend in the mid-2010s, addressing surging mobile fraud amid e-commerce growth and data breaches, where traditional methods like SMS fell short due to SIM-swapping vulnerabilities.[1][2] Its timing aligned with carrier network advancements and regulatory pushes for stronger digital identity (e.g., PSD2 in Europe), positioning DAA as a carrier-native alternative to biometrics or tokens.[2] By influencing carrier partnerships and patenting signal-based auth, Averon contributed to the ecosystem's shift toward autonomous security, though its 2020 closure reflected funding challenges in a competitive field dominated by incumbents like Okta or Auth0.[1]
Averon's DAA pioneered signal-based auth but couldn't sustain post-2020 amid market consolidation. Its patents and tech likely live on through acquisitions or IP licensing, potentially fueling ongoing passwordless evolution. Trends like zero-trust security and 5G/eSIM proliferation could revive similar innovations, amplifying carrier-led verification in a post-password world—echoing Averon's mission to "help the digital world Be Authentic."[1]
Averon has raised $20.0M across 2 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $12.0M Series A in March 2018.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 1, 2018 | $12.0M Series A | 7percent Ventures, Avalon Ventures, B Capital Group, Firstminute Capital, Founder Collective, Goat Capital, Harrison Metal, L Catterton Growth, Lowercarbon Capital, Mosaic Ventures, Social Starts, SV Angel, VantagePoint Capital Partners, Clark Landry, Mandeep Singh, Matt Mazzeo, Tom Blomfield | |
| Oct 1, 2017 | $8.0M Series A | Andreessen Horowitz, Avalon Ventures, Founder Collective, Harrison Metal, Kleiner Perkins, Menlo Ventures, Monarch Collective, SNR, SV Angel, VantagePoint Capital Partners, Arash Ferdowsi |
