The Enterprise FinTech startup plans to launch in Canada, the US and the UK next year.
Toronto-based Tuhk has raised US$6 million ($8.3 million CAD) in seed funding in preparation for a wider launch of its financial crime-fighting platform.
The financial cybersecurity startup, launched this year, aims to help financial institutions, merchants and other service providers identify and stop fraudulent payment activity.
Tuhk co-founder Heather Lamont explained in an email Friday that the company's platform brings together disparate data from different sources into a single analytics network. She said this allows companies to proactively identify threats and reduce losses from fraud.
Tuhka's all-equity seed round closed on December 3 and was led by venture capital firm FINTOP with participation from Lloyds Banking Group and Capital One Ventures. Tuhk will use the funds to “supercharge” its entry into the UK, US and Canadian markets.
Tuka's platform combines disparate data from different sources into a single intelligence network.
“Their investment reflects shared confidence in our approach and provides valuable strategic guidance as we move forward with our work together,” Tuhk co-founder and CEO Andre Edelbrock said in a statement last week. Lloyds Banking Group's FinTech arm is investing and Tuhk is working with its banking division on product design.
Edelbrock added that the capital will speed up product development as Tuhk hopes to support dispute resolution and faster payment approvals. The company plans to expand its 14-person team by hiring up to 10 more people in the “near to medium term,” Lamont said.
Tukhk says it is being launched with the aim of curbing the wave of cybercrime, which will cost approximately US$15.6 trillion worldwide by 2029, according to research company Statista. For businesses large and small, the increase in cost and frequency is due in part to more sophisticated attacks carried out by artificial intelligence (AI), the wider availability of ransomware, and a surge in cyberattacks from third-party vendors.
According to Lamont, his ideal clients are large players such as banks, online merchants, payment providers, e-commerce platforms, digital wallets and fintech companies. Over time, Tuhk hopes to serve telecommunications companies and insurance companies.
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Financial crimes are also a growing concern for the federal government. He is committed to new things National Anti-Fraud Agency in October; a few days later, the federal money laundering watchdog issued largest fine to date against Vancouver-based Cryptomus for failing to file more than 1,000 suspicious transaction reports. For Tuck, this represents a market opportunity.
Liz Ziegler, director of fraud prevention at Lloyds Banking Group, said in a statement that secure data sharing and collaboration would help quell the growing threat of fraud. “Together, we will be in a much stronger position to stop bad actors while providing a more secure system for our customers,” she said.
Image courtesy of Unsplash. Photo by the author Kevin Koo.
