Top 10 Identity and Access Management platforms

Important news about Identity and Access Management platforms

2024. CyberArk snaps up Venafi for $1.54B to ramp up in machine-to-machine security



Cybersecurity, that rather thrilling and mildly terrifying dance between protecting data and chasing ever-expanding threats, is currently going through what could be politely referred to as a “phase.” A phase where big, hulking security giants, like the appropriately mysterious CyberArk (which one imagines operates from a secret lair in the desert, though it’s actually Israeli), are on a mission to scoop up promising startups to deal with the unnervingly vast attack surface enterprises are facing as they plonk more of their operations into the cloud. In this latest chapter of “Who Bought Whom,” CyberArk has just agreed to spend a cool $1.54 billion on Venafi, a company that specializes in machine identity—because apparently, machines now need identity too (who knew?). This acquisition, part of CyberArk’s grand plan to understand the sprawling menace that is modern digital threats—made all the worse by things like mobile phones, remote work and probably too many cloud services—will also give it a leg up on securing data flow between machines, particularly with all that PKI and certificate management jargon. Oh and by the way, this shiny new purchase also means CyberArk’s addressable market jumps by $10 billion to a whopping $60 billion, which is almost enough to make you spill your tea.


2023. Authentication startup FusionAuth raises $65M



In the bewildering realm of digital identity, where developers endlessly wrestle with maddening login protocols and endlessly morphing access rules, FusionAuth has quietly slipped into the scene with a simple, audacious proposition: “Let us handle that headache.” Now armed with $65 million, they’re prepared to do just that, charming the developer universe with an elegant, feature-stuffed platform that turns the grim slog of user authentication into something almost…enjoyable. With 13 million downloads and a growing loyal fanbase, FusionAuth’s popularity seems as undeniable as a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster is potent. This new funding? It’ll help them scale up, build out and introduce yet more tools to make developers sigh, “At last, someone gets it.”

2023. Passwordless authentication startup SecureW2 raises $80M



Passwordless authentication, which—let’s face it—seems a jolly improvement over the soul-numbing drudgery of pins, passphrases and passcodes, is rather a specialty of the folks over at SecureW2. These clever people, fueled by a recent $80 million funding boost, have a peculiar knack for making the whole business of deploying and maintaining this brave new world of passwordlessness absurdly straightforward. Their crown jewel? A magical tool that issues certificates—digital golden tickets, if you will—that whisper "access granted" to Wi-Fi, ethernet, or VPNs without the need for that tired old password shuffle. What’s more, these certificates work like charm spells on both mobile and desktop devices, playing nicely across an impressive array of systems and seamlessly mingling with cloud identity sages like Okta. In short, SecureW2 extends the reach of policy-based security across entire infrastructures with the finesse of a very well-trained dolphin.


2023. AuthMind raises $8.5M for its identity SecOps platform



In an announcement that might very well make your firewall blush, AuthMind, a plucky little startup bent on shielding businesses from all manner of identity-based cyber catastrophes, has gleefully snagged $8.5 million in seed funding. With a dash of proactivity and an air of quiet self-assurance, AuthMind promises to swoop in and sort out identity snafus before they've even had a chance to unpack their digital suitcase. The secret? Peeking at the cosmic ballet of network flows to conjure a panoramic view of a company's digital realm—clouds, physical servers, SaaS apps, password vaults and all—without so much as a hint of who or what they were dealing with in the first place.


2023. Cerby lands $17M to manage access to ‘nonstandard’ enterprise apps



Cerby, a startup that helps to manage access for business-to-business nonstandard apps. has closed a $17 million Series A funding. Harnessing the power of identity providers like Okta, Azure AD and SailPoint, Cerby removes the need for manual tools and compensating controls, such as enterprise password managers, by automating everyday human security tasks based on single sign-on and lifecycle management cues from upstream identity providers. Cerby works by automating certain tasks, including offboarding and two-factor authentication enrollment, while providing security teams with visibility and control of employee-onboarded apps. It lets customers share access to social media accounts, for example, without sharing passwords. And Cerby can detect rogue apps, guiding users to more secure alternatives.


2023. Identity management platform Veza secures $15M



In the mildly bewildering universe of enterprise technology, where one is never quite sure if a software platform is saving the day or just adding to the general entropy, Veza has managed to wrangle $15 million in a funding round, which might seem like a small fortune to most but is really just a sensible precaution when dealing with identity access security in the modern data cosmos. Not content with simply existing as yet another identity management tool lurking in the digital shadows, Veza strides forth heroically, offering businesses the means to wield policies like invisible sledgehammers, sniff out violations like a highly trained (if slightly paranoid) bloodhound, and unceremoniously banish unauthorized access in a way that would make a palace guard proud. With a dash of audacious cleverness, it employs an "authorization graph"—which sounds like something one might use to chart the rise and fall of improbability—to decode authorization metadata lurking within corporate realms, presumably before it causes too much trouble.


2023. ID verification platform Bureau raises $16.5M



In a universe only slightly more perplexing than your average bureaucratic nightmare, Bureau has managed to haul in a cosmic $4.5 million for its Series A. Their self-proclaimed galactic purpose? Helping businesses fend off fraudsters and navigate the swirling asteroid field of regulatory compliance. With all the grace of a Vogon poet reciting laws of the cosmos, Bureau extends its services across realms like banking, fintech, insurance, gig economies, and the ever-enticing real-money gaming. The clever twist? A marvelously complex and centralized database that acts as a universal Hitchhiker’s Guide to Verified Identities. Every entry is tokenized and tethered to a mobile number, building rich digital profiles complete with everything from email addresses to IPs, all while constructing virtual personas that even Marvin the Paranoid Android would grudgingly approve of. As if that weren't enough, Bureau grounds this digital wizardry in reality using document verification, OCR, Facematch, and even calling on the gods of government databases. These contextual, tokenized insights ensure smooth encounters—whether you’re opening an account, logging in, or making transactions—with the hope that no one accidentally brings the galaxy to an administrative standstill.


2023. Google Authenticator can now sync 2FA codes to the cloud



Google Authenticator, not one to be outdone by the cosmic absurdity of passwords in general, has undergone a delightful upgrade to improve the daily dance of logging in to every app and website you’ve ever sworn you'd never forget your login details for. As of today—and this may well be the most thrilling news since sliced bread was discovered to have a top and bottom—Google Authenticator will now cleverly synchronize your precious, one-time two-factor authentication codes to your Google Account. Before this update, these codes lived a precarious existence, hoarded locally on a single, existentially fragile device. Losing said device was, of course, like sending your digital security to an interstellar black hole, from which no 2FA code could escape. Now, however, with the app’s shiny new synchronization feature, if you happen to be signed into your Google Account within Authenticator, those codes will obediently follow you to new devices, like well-trained intergalactic minions, ready to restore order to your universe.


2023. Strivacity, which helps companies build secure login flows, nabs $20M



Strivacity, a particularly clever startup with grand designs on the realm of digital identity, has managed to charm investors into parting with a whopping $20 million. Their platform, which could best be described as "sign-in experiences made ludicrously user-friendly," offers businesses a way to set up login flows without ever needing to sully their hands with anything as ghastly as coding. Instead, they get a delightful dashboard filled with radio buttons and drop-down menus that actually do things. Strivacity then gallantly handles everything else—consent management, identity verification, branding—while hanging out on a remarkably scalable cloud. This cloud, by the way, is capable of gracefully weathering a veritable storm of login attempts, numbering in the hundreds of millions, all while barely breaking a digital sweat. The founder, possibly wearing a reassuring smile, explains that Strivacity’s mission is to make the experience of logging in something a little less like a bad day at the DMV and a lot more like, well, magic.


2023. Spera raises $10M for its identity security posture management platform



In a universe not entirely unlike our own, where startups spring up faster than improbably blooming flowers in a vacuum, Spera emerges—a plucky security outfit determined to shield businesses from those pesky, identity-driven threats that lurk like cosmic hitchhikers with dubious intentions. Armed with a fresh $10 million seed funding, Spera offers a marvelously comprehensive end-to-end tool, the sort of thing that would make even the most paranoid interstellar bureaucrat sigh with relief. It delivers visibility, context, and, when things have taken a turn for the spectacularly inconvenient, the power of remediation. But there’s more! In a world where businesses are desperate to slice costs like a Vogon demolishing a particularly uninspiring planet, Spera's service also hunts down dormant accounts—languishing about like uninvited guests at a digital party—helping companies cheerfully switch them off and save on license fees.