Story of Persona: Secure, Efficient Platform for Identity Verification & KYC
Story of Persona:
A Friendship That Sparked Innovation
The story of Persona began back in 2012, when Rick
Song and Charles Yeh met during a summer internship. What started as a
friendship grew into a professional partnership years later. Both shared a deep
interest in technology and problem-solving, which eventually laid the
foundation for their entrepreneurial journey.
Early Career Lessons
Before creating their own company, both founders built
valuable experience at leading tech firms. Rick Song became an engineer at Square,
while Charles Yeh worked at Dropbox. At these companies, they were
entrusted with leading identity teams, giving them firsthand insight into the
challenges of identity verification in fast-growing digital platforms.
The Startup Idea Takes Shape
By 2017, Yeh was eager to start a company and saw the
growing importance of identity security in the digital world. He steered their
focus toward the identity space, convinced that businesses everywhere would
need better tools to verify users and combat fraud. Song agreed, and together
they decided to pursue this vision.
Story of Persona: Secure, Efficient Platform for Identity Verification & KYC#entrepreneur#startup#AI story#funding#networth#Persona story#funding
Founding Persona
In 2018, Song and Yeh officially launched Persona
in San Francisco, California. Song stepped into the role of CEO while
Yeh became CTO. Their mission was clear: to create a platform that would help
businesses verify customer identities securely, efficiently, and at scale,
without adding friction to the user experience.
Building a Flexible Identity Platform
From the start, Persona stood out for its flexibility. The
platform allowed businesses to choose from multiple verification methods—such
as document checks, biometric matching, and database lookups—and then
customize the workflows to their needs. This approach made it easier for
companies to stay compliant with KYC/AML/KYB regulations while protecting
against fraud.
Rapid Growth and Recognition
Persona quickly attracted attention from major investors.
With backing from Founders Fund, Insight Partners, and Meritech Capital
Partners, the company raised $217 million in Series C funding. This
strong financial support helped Persona expand its technology and serve more
global businesses. By this time, companies like Coursera and Brex
had already adopted Persona to verify users and meet strict compliance
standards.
Beyond Verification – Full Identity Operations
Over time, Persona expanded beyond simple identity
verification. The platform introduced tools for case reviews, orchestration,
and automation. Businesses could now set their own rules, ingest third-party
data, and trigger external actions—all within Persona. This turned Persona into
a full identity infrastructure provider, helping organizations manage
sensitive personal data securely while streamlining workflows.
Shaping the Future of Digital Identity
Today, Persona continues to lead the way in solving one of
the biggest challenges of the digital era: trust. With machine learning,
computer vision, and advanced algorithms, it can verify identities in seconds
across a wide range of use cases. From preventing fraud to enabling secure
online education, Persona ensures businesses can focus on building great
products while it takes care of the complex identity challenges behind the
scenes.
Persona Timeline
- 2012
– Rick Song and Charles Yeh meet during a summer internship, beginning
their friendship.
- 2012–2017
– Song works at Square and Yeh at Dropbox, where both lead
identity teams and gain expertise in digital identity verification.
- 2017
– Charles Yeh proposes starting a company, steering the idea toward the
identity space due to growing needs in fraud prevention and compliance.
- 2018
– Persona is founded in San Francisco, California, by Rick Song
(CEO) and Charles Yeh (CTO).
- 2018–2020
– Persona develops a flexible identity verification platform with document
checks, biometric matching, and database lookups.
- 2020–2022
– Persona raises $217 million in Series C funding from Founders
Fund, Insight Partners, and Meritech Capital Partners.
- 2021–2022
– Major companies like Coursera and Brex adopt Persona for
compliance with KYC/AML regulations and secure user verification.
- 2022–Present
– Persona evolves into a full identity infrastructure platform, offering
case review, orchestration, automation, and third-party integrations.
- Present
& Beyond – Persona continues to grow as a leader in digital
identity verification, using AI, machine learning, and computer vision to
protect businesses and users worldwide.
