Unibeam, a startup from Israel that creates secure login technology using cryptography, has raised $6 million in early funding. The investment was led by NFX, with support from AnD Ventures.
The company has developed a new method for verifying your identity, utilising your phone’s SIM card or eSIM. Instead of using passwords, apps, or one-time codes, Unibeam uses the secure chip inside the SIM to safely confirm who you are.
“With AI making it alarmingly easy to impersonate people online, we’re seeing a surge in digital fraud that traditional authentication methods can’t handle,” said Gigi Levy-Weiss, Founding Partner at NFX. “What excites us about Unibeam is that they’re not just improving authentication—they’re redefining it. By anchoring identity to the eSIM/SIM and device, they’ve created a deterministic approach that’s virtually impossible to spoof, offering a level of certainty that’s urgently needed. It’s a powerful new line of defence in the fight against AI-driven impersonation, especially in a world of deepfakes and digital deception.”
The funding comes at a time when identity fraud is on the rise. In the UK, SIM swapping cases shot up by 1,000% in 2024.
Just last month, the FBI and CISA issued a warning about using SMS-based one-time passwords (OTPs). Even though they’re a common way to protect accounts, these codes can be easily tricked or intercepted.
Most systems today utilise models that infer information based on changing signals and require a substantial amount of data to function effectively. Unibeam takes a different approach that’s more exact.
It uses information your phone already has—like your SIM ID, device ID, and phone number—to create a secure, one-of-a-kind digital key. This helps verify your identity more accurately.
“The best security doesn’t just block threats; it gets out of the user’s way,” said Ran Ben-David, Unibeam’s Founder and CEO. “We’ve built Unibeam to be invisible to the user and invulnerable to attackers. There’s no app to download, no password to remember, no code to enter. Just instant, deterministic identity confirmation, even on the most basic phones or connected devices. That’s what the future of authentication should feel like: effortless and airtight.”
Ben-David started Unibeam, and CTO Steve Harkins later joined it. The company also has experienced advisors who were formerly top executives at major telecom companies, including Orange, Vodafone, and Telecom Italia.
Unibeam’s system works on any mobile device or operating system and is offered as a software service that companies can connect to through an API. It can be used for tasks such as logging in, performing extra security checks, approving transactions, and identifying smart devices in the Internet of Things (IoT).
