Transforming Business Identity Verification Across Europe: The Duna Effect
A New Force in Fintech Innovation
duna, an emerging startup focused on business identity verification, recently raised €30 million in a Series A funding round, making it the most well-capitalized European company to arise from the influential “Stripe mafia” network. This term describes entrepreneurs and executives who previously contributed to Stripe’s success before launching their own ventures. The latest investment was spearheaded by CapitalG, Alphabet’s growth equity fund known for backing Stripe since its 2016 Series D financing.
founders with Strong Industry Expertise
Founded by Duco van Lanschot and David Schreiber-both former Stripe employees-Duna operates out of Germany and the Netherlands. Their platform simplifies onboarding for fintech companies by minimizing friction during corporate identity verification and fraud prevention processes. Clients like Plaid benefit from accelerated onboarding that reduces customer drop-off rates substantially.
Support from Leading Industry Figures
Even though stripe itself is not currently a client of Duna, several prominent former and current Stripe executives have invested as angel backers. these include michael Coogan (COO), David Singleton (former CTO), and Claire Hughes johnson (former COO). Additionally, Adyen-a direct competitor to Stripe-has demonstrated confidence in Duna through investments made by its CRCO Mariëtte swart and CFO Ethan Tandowsky.
Differentiated Solutions for Complex Onboarding Needs
Duna focuses on enterprise clients who often lack the resources required for intricate onboarding procedures. Unlike large payment platforms such as Adyen or Stripe-which serve broad markets and are unlikely to offer highly customizable onboarding products-duna delivers tailored solutions that can be adapted individually per company requirements.
“The degree of customization needed means major players won’t spin off business onboarding into standalone products where each enterprise can independently adjust configurations,” explains van Lanschot.
A Visionary Digital Trust Ecosystem
The company envisions building an interconnected digital infrastructure enabling businesses to reuse verified identity data seamlessly across multiple platforms worldwide. For instance, once a firm completes verification on one service like Spendwise-a UK-based expense management tool-the same credentials could instantly be accepted by other partners such as Plaid or international banks.
This concept acts like a “digital passport” for companies that streamlines repeated verification steps while raising global security standards together.
The Strategic Rationale Behind CapitalG’s Commitment
Alex Nichols, General Partner at CapitalG who led this funding round, cites two key reasons behind his investment: strong network effects embedded within Duna’s model alongside founders’ profound understanding of overlooked challenges in business verification workflows. He compares this possibility to rebuilding foundational infrastructure akin to what Visa accomplished with payments-but focused instead on establishing trust around identities.
Navigating Competition Within KYB Solutions Market
Duna competes within the Know Your Business (KYB) sector alongside firms like Jumio and Veriff; though, it distinguishes itself by generating proprietary data rather than relying solely on aggregating existing sources-which are frequently enough incomplete or outdated. This strategy improves accuracy while unlocking scalable growth opportunities unique among competitors.
Leveraging Network Clusters for Accelerated Growth
The startup targets tightly connected groups-or “patches”-of companies sharing customers or investors across industries such as manufacturing or asset management. By initially focusing on these clusters where natural overlaps exist, Duna accelerates value creation through immediate reuse of verified identities before expanding broader network effects nationally or internationally.
“Even smaller countries hold meaningful potential,” notes van Lanschot. “For example, Dutch banks employ thousands dedicated solely to compliance tasks involving businesses; automating parts of these workflows could save millions annually.”
The Role of AI in Enhancing Compliance Efficiency
While fully replacing compliance personnel remains a long-term goal,integrating AI-driven automation already enables cost savings alongside new revenue streams early during adoption phases-demonstrating clear benefits well before widespread market penetration occurs.
The Future Vision: Seamless One-Click B2B Onboarding inspired by Consumer Experiences
If scaled successfully, Duna has potential to revolutionize how enterprises onboard clients with smooth experiences comparable to Amazon’s one-click checkout-but designed specifically for B2B transactions similar to innovations like Stripe Link. This would represent another milestone closely tied back yet distinctively evolved from its founders’ roots within the Stripe ecosystem.
