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Seed-stage venture fund, Unitus Seed Fund, has made an undisclosed investment in BetterPlace Safety Solutions, a Bengaluru-based digital verification solution provider.
Founded in 2015 by Uday Singh, currently the group chief executive officer of SIS Group, and Pravin Agarwala, former global head (cloud ERP development) at SAP, BetterPlace claims to have created the country’s first web service that addresses the ‘trust deficit’ in any form of alliance or interaction between individuals and entities.
“The rising incidents of abuse of children in the city schools traumatised all parents. Being the father of two young girls and a techie, I started to think of a technology-based solution that could address such issues by a process of continuous and reliable safety products. That’s what led to BetterPlace,” co-founder Pravin Agarwala said in a statement on Tuesday.
From verifying the credentials of a potential tenant, to hiring a maid, to fulfilling the workforce hiring requirements of large organisations, BetterPlace aims to provide a trust platform and safety profiles for individuals and entities and provide safety solutions for related safety concerns through its web-based service and mobile applications.
According to BetterPlace, its technology platform offers multi-point verification across digital and offline channels from a combination of sources including Aadhaar (digital ID) information, relevant digital footprint of an individual, traditional background checks as well as crowdsourcing from social media.
When hiring somebody, all that needs to be done is a search by name, mobile number or a valid ID and the hirer can view a profile that enables a decision to be made about the potential hire. The platform also allows for users to create base profiles which are then verified by BetterPlace. BetterPlace currently counts Housejoy, CommonFloor, RoadRunnr and Swiggy, among others, as its customers.
Commenting on the BetterPlace solution, Nandan Nilekani, former UIDAI chairman said, “I have always believed in the power of Aadhaar to leapfrog development and transformation of our country. BetterPlace has been able to leverage the Aadhaar platform and utilise it for a broader social need by offering an innovative, integrated and continuous safety as a service offering.”
According to World Bank estimates, Aadhaar is saving the Indian government about Rs 6,700 crore annually by curbing corruption through digital technologies that can promote inclusion, efficiency and innovation.
“BetterPlace’s strong technology platform and the underlying data analytics and application tools will bridge a much-needed gap in the safety quotient of the country. We see the potential for BetterPlace to enable more secure onboarding for workers and better prospects for all,” said Will Poole, co-founder and managing partner of Unitus Seed Fund.
