Can 1Kosmos turn $57m in new funding into a breakthrough moment for passwordless authentication?

1Kosmos, a New Jersey-based identity technology company specializing in passwordless authentication and identity proofing, has secured $57 million in Series B financing to accelerate its global market expansion and deepen product capabilities. The funding round includes a $10 million line of credit from Bridge Bank and was led by cybersecurity investment firm Forgepoint Capital, with participation from Oquirrh Ventures, Craig Abod (Founder and President of Carahsoft), NextEra Energy Ventures, Gula Tech Adventures, and the 1Kosmos management team.

The investment increases the total capital raised by 1Kosmos to over $72 million, following a $15 million Series A round. The company intends to channel the new capital into scaling its direct and channel sales across North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, as well as advancing technology integrations with leading identity and access management (IAM), customer identity and access management (CIAM), privileged access management (PAM), and zero trust platforms.

Executives said the expansion comes amid a surge in enterprise demand for “identity-first” security, driven by the growing sophistication of impersonation threats. Recent incidents, including the Scattered Spider attack campaign and reported infiltration attempts by North Korean “shadow IT” workers, have exposed weaknesses in legacy identity verification processes, particularly in account recovery through IT service desks.

1Kosmos positions its platform as a preventative measure, offering live biometrics, verified identity proofing, and phishing-resistant authentication to stop account compromise before it begins.

Why is identity-first security gaining traction in enterprise risk strategies?

According to industry observers, the shift toward identity-first security reflects a broader recognition that compromised credentials and impersonation tactics have become the starting point for many advanced cyberattacks. Analysts note that once attackers gain entry through weak identity controls, they can escalate privileges, access sensitive systems, and evade detection for extended periods.

Hemen Vimadalal, Chief Executive Officer of 1Kosmos, said the investment strengthens the company’s ability to deploy proactive controls that prevent such threats, whether from organized cybercriminal groups or state-sponsored actors. He emphasized that 1Kosmos can be implemented within hours, making it a practical solution for organizations seeking to rapidly close identity security gaps.

Institutional sentiment suggests that passwordless authentication and verified digital identities are moving from “emerging” to “essential” in the enterprise technology stack. This is particularly true in regulated industries such as banking, government, and healthcare, where both security and compliance pressures are high.

What recent milestones have positioned 1Kosmos for accelerated growth?

The Series B funding follows a period of notable achievements for 1Kosmos. The company became the only full-service Kantara-certified credential service provider to earn FedRAMP High authorization, enabling it to serve the U.S. government’s most security-sensitive workloads.

Through a partnership with Carahsoft, 1Kosmos also secured a 10-year, $194.5 million blanket purchase agreement to supply next-generation identity proofing for Login.gov, the federal authentication platform used across multiple U.S. government agencies.

Backers of the Series B raise pointed to this combination of certifications, federal contracts, and commercial traction as indicators of a defensible and scalable platform. Ron Heinz, Founder and General Partner at Oquirrh Ventures, said 1Kosmos enables enterprises to consolidate onboarding, verification, and authentication workflows into a single solution that reduces fraud, operational costs, and time-to-value.

How does 1Kosmos differentiate its identity verification and passwordless authentication offering?

1Kosmos integrates identity proofing and passwordless multi-factor authentication into a single platform, eliminating the need for passwords or bolt-on multi-factor authentication tools. The platform encrypts personally identifiable information (PII) on a private, permissioned blockchain, removing centralized data “honeypots” and eliminating administrative access to sensitive records.

The company is also investing in artificial intelligence to advance its capabilities, with planned enhancements in adaptive authentication, smarter identity verification, and improved analytics and threat detection. These AI-driven features aim to further reduce friction for legitimate users while tightening security against evolving impersonation tactics.

From a compliance perspective, the platform holds certifications to FIDO2, NIST 800-63-3, ISO 27001, SOC II Type 2, PAD Level 2, and FedRAMP High, aligning with privacy and security standards across multiple jurisdictions.

How are investors framing the growth potential for passwordless identity platforms?

Investors in the Series B round view the identity space as a long-term growth opportunity, citing the convergence of cybersecurity, user experience, and regulatory compliance. With digital services becoming central to both government and commercial operations, ensuring that every user—whether an employee, contractor, or customer—is securely verified has become a board-level concern.

Jay Emmanual, Managing Partner at NextEra Energy Investments, said that 1Kosmos’ approach replaces fragmented identity tools with a unified, business-aligned layer that delivers secure and verified access. Craig Abod of Carahsoft added that deterministic identity verification—removing guesswork from the authentication process—has direct efficiency benefits, reducing the time and complexity of managing access controls.

Market analysts expect that as AI-powered impersonation tools continue to proliferate, enterprises will increasingly prioritize solutions capable of delivering verifiable digital identity at scale.

What is the long-term market outlook for enterprise identity verification and passwordless authentication?

Enterprise adoption of identity-first security solutions is projected to accelerate over the next five years, driven by multiple factors: the rise of remote and hybrid work, regulatory mandates for stronger authentication, and the operational benefits of eliminating passwords.

In the public sector, government contracts like the Login.gov agreement are expected to open the door to similar deployments in allied nations with comparable security frameworks. In the private sector, sectors such as financial services, telecommunications, and healthcare are likely to be early adopters due to their high exposure to fraud risk and their need for frictionless customer experiences.

Industry consensus indicates that cybersecurity vendors like 1Kosmos, which combine rigorous, third-party certified compliance frameworks with proven scalability and AI-driven enhancements, stand out in a market where both trust and performance are critical decision drivers. By delivering FedRAMP High authorization, multiple ISO and FIDO2 certifications, and a unified platform for identity proofing and passwordless authentication, 1Kosmos has built a defensible position that appeals to regulated enterprises, government agencies, and multinational corporations seeking to modernize their identity and access management (IAM) infrastructure.

Analysts point out that this convergence of compliance assurance, enterprise-grade scalability, and adaptive, AI-powered security capabilities enables 1Kosmos to compete effectively against entrenched IAM incumbents while also capturing demand from organizations dissatisfied with fragmented identity solutions. These strengths could allow the company to win contracts traditionally dominated by legacy providers, while also appealing to digital-first enterprises that value rapid deployment and operational efficiency.

However, market observers caution that the competitive landscape is evolving quickly. Major cloud platforms, IAM vendors, and emerging security startups are all racing to integrate passwordless authentication, AI-based identity proofing, and zero trust alignment into their offerings. As these capabilities become baseline expectations rather than premium differentiators, sustaining market leadership will require continuous innovation, deeper integration with complementary security platforms, and proactive engagement with evolving regulatory requirements across jurisdictions.