Cognito

Acquired★ Top company

Frictionless, modern identity verification that starts with just a…

Summer 2014Founded 201312 peoplePalo Alto, CA, USA; Remote

cognitohq.com ↗LinkedIn ↗X ↗Crunchbase ↗See on the Idea Map B2B momentum

About

Cognito is the highest converting ID verification system on the market. By starting with just a user's phone number, Cognito can verify their name, date of birth, address, phone, and Social Security Number. The strong link formed between a user and their phone number builds trust while reducing friction.

From their website

as of Jun 7, 2026cognitohq.com ↗

SaaSSubscription

Cognito offers identity verification and KYC/AML compliance solutions with ID verification, watchlist screening, and monitoring that can be integrated with minimal code. It emphasizes high conversion, global coverage, and developer-friendly APIs and SDKs.

Cognito provides Flow for all-in-one identity verification (ID data, document verification, selfies, liveness, phone linking), Screening for AML/PEP watchlists with multiple screening lists and multilingual matching, and Monitor for ongoing monitoring and alerts. It supports various integration options (no-code links, hybrid API with Flow UI, full API integration) and claims high match rates, rapid completion, and an extensible compliance CRM with case history and audit trails. The platform scales across 209 countries, supports 13,000 ID documents, and offers multilingual capabilities, with a developer-centric API, documentation, and SDKs.

Who it’s for: Businesses requiring global identity verification, KYC/AML compliance, and ongoing screening for onboarding and risk management.

Features

All-in-one identity verification (ID data, document, selfie, liveness)
Global watchlist and PEP screening with false-positive reduction
Ongoing monitoring and AML compliance workflows
High match rates and fast completion times
No-code, hybrid, and full API integration options
Developer-focused API, SDKs, and extensive documentation
Compliance CRM with audit trails and case management

Hiring/traction mentions (growth-focused onboarding, onboarding tens of millions of users), active product updates and feature releases; developer-centric tooling and sandbox for testing.