Tencent, Google and Meta vets raise $45 million in Series A towards online safety startup k-ID

• k-ID has secured $45 million in Series A funding
• The company has raised $51 million in under nine months

Online safety and compliance company k-ID has secured $45 million in funding through a Series A round led by Andreessen Horowitz and Lightspeed Venture Partners.

The funding will support k-ID’s missions to set a global benchmark for age-appropriate video game experiences and to solve the "complex issue of privacy and online safety worldwide".

The Series A was also supported by Konvoy, TIRTA, Okta, and Z Venture Capital and marks k-ID’s third fundraiser in less than nine months. To date, the engine has received $51 million in total funding.

Tech and legal join forces

Selected as a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer for 2024, k-ID seeks to create safer online communities for young people with a cross-platform, instant sign-on solution.

Its co-founder and CEO Kieran Donovan formed the startup in September last year, leveraging his knowledge as an attorney, with a goal of guiding game makers through ever-evolving regulatory frameworks.

Fellow co-founders include Timothy Ma, Julian Corbett, and Jeff Wu. The team’s tech background spans EA, Google, Meta, Take-Two, and Tencent. They brought k-ID out of stealth this March.

"The time for change is now - today, the world demands safer, more empowered online experiences for youth. The groundswell of support from across the industry has been phenomenal. We are excited to accelerate our mission to bring privacy-preserving, youth-first technology that delivers on the societal imperative of empowering the next generation," said Donovan.

Andreessen Horowitz general partner Jonathan Lai commented: "Kids today make friends and countless memories inside games and virtual worlds, and parents need modern tools to keep them safe. k-ID is serving this need and defining a new industry standard for digital youth safety.

"We first invested in k-ID at the pre-seed through Speedrun, and we're thrilled to continue supporting them as they make digital communities safer for kids and parents."

Lightspeed partner and head of gaming and interactive media Moritz Baier-Lentz is also joining k-ID’s board of directors. He added: "Clearly, k-ID is solving a massive challenge for publishers, parents, teens, and kids worldwide. Embarking on this partnership during my parental leave only made it more meaningful."

k-ID has also announced a partnership with the ESRB Privacy Certified programme and has configured its portals to reflect COPPA requirements.

Blockchain games developer Illuvium raised $12 million in its Series A to bolster its open-world creature collector, city builder, and auto battler games.