Niva

After four incredible years at Enigma, building some of the most powerful data on businesses in the United States with an extraordinary team, I decided to start something new with Akhil Naini. Today, we’re thrilled to introduce Niva—a business identity platform with a global focus. Being an immigrant, I've seen firsthand how trust in businesses is an even bigger problem outside the United States. At Enigma, countless customers asked for a similar product in other countries. Transactions between businesses power the majority of global commerce, with over 97% of cross-border transactions involving businesses that need to be verified to meet regulatory requirements (KYB) and prevent fraud. Today's process to verify these businesses is flawed. It lacks accurate data and is extremely manual, with teams of analysts investigating each business and interpreting complex local legal and financial documents. At Niva, our mission is to make it effortless to trust legitimate businesses anywhere in the world. With the latest advancements in AI and an exceptional early team, we’re excited to reimagine global business identity. With this launch, we’re also announcing our fundraise led by Gradient Ventures, Google’s AI fund, with participation from Picus Capital, Canary, Gilgamesh Ventures, and key executives from Chime, Deel, Enigma, and Faire, among others. Huge thanks to Darian Shirazi, Julian Roeoes, Florian Hagenbuch, Miguel Armaza, and Andrew Endicott for believing in our vision. Thank you to Axios and Ryan Lawler for covering Niva’s story, and thank you to all our friends and early supporters for helping us in the first chapter of this adventure. Axios: https://lnkd.in/gts8Fd8q Our blog: https://lnkd.in/geXxwquT Join us on this exciting journey to transform global commerce. 🌐✨

I'm excited to share that I'll be at Money 2020 this next week. If you'll also be at the conference, I'd love to find time to connect! Shoot me an email or DM.

🛠️ Building KYB in-house? Here’s Why You Should Think Twice Recently, a founder asked me if they should build their KYB solution in-house or work with a specialist. It got me thinking—while building in-house can seem appealing, there are significant factors that are easy to overlook. If KYB isn’t your core focus, here’s why it might not be the best option. 🔧 The Appeal of Building In-House: 1. Customization: The solution can be tailored to your exact needs. 2. Data control: You control how sensitive customer data is handled and stored. 3. IP ownership: Owning the intellectual property could give you a competitive edge. 4. Cost: Building in-house might seem more cost-effective by avoiding vendor fees. ⚠️ Why Building Might Not Be the Answer: 1. Compliance Nightmares: Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations are evolving and tightening globally—fast. Falling behind can lead to fines, legal risks, or even shutdowns in certain markets. 2. AI Investment: Modern KYB requires sophisticated AI. Without constant updates, your customer experience might not be as seamless, and you may struggle to onboard businesses and grow as quickly as your competitors. 3. Fraud Threats: Fraudsters adapt monthly. At Niva, we see new forms of document fraud all the time. Are you prepared to keep up? ❓ Critical Questions to Ask Before Building: 1. How do you plan to keep your KYB program compliant and AI up-to-date, especially across markets? 2. Will your AI talent be better spent on core differentiators like customer acquisition and risk decisioning, or maintaining compliance? 3. Can you afford a customer experience or operational efficiency that’s a step behind the competition? At Niva, we keep KYB at the forefront of both AI and regulatory updates—allowing you to focus on growing your business. Interested in automating KYB internationally? 👉 What’s your take on building vs. buying KYB?

While increasing regulatory compliance is a hot topic in the US, it's becoming increasingly important worldwide 🌎 Mexico 🇲🇽 is a prime example, with the CNBV ramping up its efforts to enforce sanctions compliance over the past few years. I’ve put together two key graphs to shed light on this: 1. Number of Fines Over Time: Shows a clear trend in the enforcement of sanctions compliance regulations. 2. Total Spent on Fines Over Time: Shows the escalating financial consequences for non-compliant organizations. If you're doing business in Mexico and need help increasing compliance standards to avoid fines, feel free to DM us at Niva—we'd be happy to help.

Introducing Niva's Guide to KYB in Mexico! 🇲🇽 Navigating the complexities of Know Your Business (KYB) regulatory requirements in Mexico can be challenging. That's why we've created a straightforward guide to help you get started or refine your existing process. In this guide, you'll find: 1. An overview of key KYB regulations in Mexico 2. Simple steps to ensure your business meets compliance standards 3. The biggest challenges in meeting these standards 4. Tips on using automation to streamline the process 👉 Check it out here: https://lnkd.in/gXtq-4wS (English) https://lnkd.in/gu8Xrbhg (Spanish) Let’s make compliance and trust seamless between businesses in Mexico!

We’re excited to announce that we’re #hiring another engineer to join our founding team in New York! I want to share a little about why I started Niva with Abhinav Rai: 1. It's a chance to use modern AI to solve a real-world problem. I’ve felt the pain of manually verifying businesses throughout my fintech career. At Gusto, we built an internal tool called ZenSA to make this process more efficient, but the technology wasn’t quite there to fully automate it. 2. The problem is huge and a major friction point for scaling global commerce. In just the first few months, we've partnered with several fast-growing international fintechs and fully automated their business onboarding. It's been a challenge to keep up with the demand 🚀🚀 Onboarding is just the start - our mission is to scale global commerce by building trust between businesses worldwide! DM me for details.