Niva's platform leverages AI agents to make it easy for customers to build trust in legitimate businesses on a global scale.
New York, July 8, 2024–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Niva, the global business identity platform, officially launched today, introducing an AI-powered solution designed to overcome the significant challenges of establishing trust in business internationally. Backed by leading customers and over $3.3 million in funding led by Gradient Ventures, Google's AI-focused venture fund, with participation from key executives from Picus Capital, Canary, Gilgamesh Ventures, Chime, Deel, Enigma and Faire, Niva is poised to transform the complex global commerce landscape.
The rapid growth and digitization of cross-border trade, estimated to exceed $150 trillion in annual payments volume in 2022, is driving increased complexity and risk, especially for companies operating in multiple countries. More than 97% of cross-border transactions are business-to-business, with verifying a company's identity by screening for fraud and meeting domestic and international KYB requirements a major friction point. The current process is almost entirely manual, flawed, varies significantly by country, and often requires weeks of email back and forth between Niva customers and SMEs applying to use the product. The need for a next-generation platform customized for fast-growing companies operating under these constraints has never been greater, and Niva is already filling this critical need.
“Streamlining KYB has always been at the core of our business,” said Sebastian Kreis, CEO and founder of Xepelin, one of the fastest growing B2B fintech companies in Latin America. “In just a few months, Niva's AI has been able to accelerate our onboarding to the next level. It's clear that the team has extensive experience in this space and we're excited about our continued partnership.”
By leveraging Niva's compliance and fraud AI agents, companies can reduce onboarding cycles from weeks to less than 10 minutes. This innovation not only delivers a better onboarding experience and improves application conversion rates, it also eliminates the need to train operations teams on multiple languages, local laws, and fraud tactics.
“We are excited to invest in Niva as they leverage recent innovations in large-scale language models to solve one of the most complex problems: quality data on international businesses,” said Darian Shirazi, General Partner at Gradient. “Poor quality data impedes access to credit and financing for businesses large and small. We are excited to see how this platform will transform the industry and the world.”
Niva has already made great strides, serving early adopters including fast-growing international fintechs like Xepelin, cross-border marketplaces like Prima, and other fast-growing startups including Aplazo, one of Mexico's largest “buy now, pay later” platforms.
Prior to founding Niva, co-founder and CEO Abhinav Rai served as general manager at Enigma, one of the leading small business data vendors in the U.S., where he recently led the launch of Enigma's KYB product. “In my previous role, countless customers asked me for a product that they could support in other countries and markets,” says Rai. “As an immigrant, I have seen firsthand how trust is even more of an issue outside the U.S., especially in emerging markets.” Niva co-founder and CTO Akhil Naini has nearly a decade of valuable experience in onboarding businesses and individuals from his roles as an engineering leader at Gusto, Coinbase, and most recently Chime.
About Niva:
Founded by industry experts Abhinav Rai and Akhil Naini, Niva is a global business identity platform used to build trust for businesses across the globe. For more information, visit www.niva.co.
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