Truework, the verified identity platform that gives consumers control over their personal and professional information, announced today it has raised $12 million in Series A financing led by Sequoia Capital with participation from Stanford University and existing investors, including Khosla Ventures, Menlo Ventures, and Founder Collective. The company is also announcing that its network has grown to more than one million users in just one year.

During major transactions, from buying a home to applying for a job, banks and other institutions must verify private, sensitive data about consumers. While many of these activities have shifted to take place online, the process of verifying identity remains stuck in the past, plagued by a lack of consumer transparency and accuracy. Beginning with employment and income data, Truework secures sensitive identity information, providing details only with consumers' explicit consent, while automating manual workflows for HR departments, banks and other institutions.

"We are working to fundamentally change the data economy, in which credit bureaus continue to squeeze profits by abusing the privacy of consumers," said Ryan Sandler, co-founder and CEO of Truework. "When third parties receive access to private data, it is often a complete black box for individuals. Truework is bringing these processes front and center, putting more control into the hands of the consumer."

"Identity is vital to the health of the sharing economy and other online services, but it is completely broken today. Truework is building the internet's new identity layer that will bring security and speed to many different transactions. The success they have had in just over a year shows the incredible demand for innovation and privacy in this very outdated space," added Alfred Lin, partner at Sequoia Capital. Lin is joining Truework's board and also sits on the board of Airbnb, Doordash and others.

Launched in April 2018, Truework's platform for employers integrates with HR and payroll systems to automatically process employment and income requests. Employees are able to approve or deny each request in real time, allowing banks and other institutions to access information without slowing down the application process. Today, Truework's network is comprised of hundreds of employers, including The College Board, Oscar Health, InVision, and Tuft & Needle. The company serves over 3,000 financial institutions and has verified income data on more than $2 billion of home loans.

The new funding will be used to scale the product and engineering teams and expand the scope of its identity platform for consumer and enterprise users.

"It's hard to believe that in 2019 consumers cannot instantly go through every step of the mortgage qualification process online. Truework is solving the final missing piece by letting lenders quickly verify employment, income and other identity data," said Keith Rabois, partner at Founders Fund who led Truework's seed round while at Khosla Ventures. Rabois sits on the board of Opendoor, Affirm, and others.

To learn more about Truework, visit https://www.truework.com/

ABOUT SEQUOIA
Sequoia helps daring founders build legendary companies from idea to IPO and beyond. We spur founders to push the boundaries of what's possible. In partnering with Sequoia, companies benefit from 47 years of tribal knowledge from working with founders like Steve Jobs, Larry Ellison, Larry Page, Jan Koum, Brian Chesky, Drew Houston, Adi Tatarko, Julia Hartz and Jack Dorsey. In aggregate, Sequoia-backed companies account for more than 20% of NASDAQ's total value. From the beginning, non-profits have been the backbone of our LP base, which means founders' accomplishments make a meaningful difference. The majority of our profits - over $16 billion since 2000 alone - are returned to great causes, like the Ford Foundation, Mayo Clinic and MIT.

ABOUT TRUEWORK
Truework is building a network for verified identity that puts consumers in control of their sensitive personal information. The company is initially focused on verified employment & income data, information that is necessary for the lending and housing markets to function smoothly, but relies on outdated, pen- and- paper processes that provide consumers with no assurance of privacy or accuracy. Truework's platform digitizes this process for HR departments, banks, and others, to make it faster and more secure for employees to get verified when applying to transactions like loans and apartment rentals. Founded by Ryan Sandler, Ethan Winchell and Victor Kabdebon in 2017, the company is backed by Sequoia Capital, Khosla Ventures, and others, and has raised $15 million to date. To learn more, visit www.truework.com.