BioCatch
Tel Aviv-based fraud-prevention company selling behavioral-intelligence software to banks, majority-owned by Permira and being acquired by Visa for USD 2.4 billion in cash.
Industry: Behavioral intelligence and fraud prevention | Location: Tel Aviv, Israel | Founded: 2011 | Total Funding: USD 215M
About BioCatch
BioCatch is an Israeli behavioral-intelligence company, founded in Tel Aviv in 2011, that sells fraud-prevention software to banks and other financial institutions. Its technology analyses how a person interacts with a device, including typing rhythm, mouse movement, touchscreen gestures and the way a phone is held, to build a behavioral profile that can distinguish a genuine customer from a fraudster in real time. It is used to detect account takeovers, scams, money-mule activity and application fraud before a transaction completes, and to spot when a legitimate customer is acting under coercion. The company's models draw on more than 3,000 anonymised signals. The company's About page names Avi Turgeman, Benny Rosenbaum and Uri Rivner as its founders; Turgeman's idea grew out of his military intelligence background. Gadi Mazor has been chief executive since October 2021, having joined in January 2018 as chief operations officer. BioCatch is headquartered in Tel Aviv with offices in New York, London and elsewhere; one report put its headcount at 316, while directory listings give a range of 251 to 500. BioCatch's first institutional round was a USD 10 million Series A in 2014 led by Blumberg Capital and OurCrowd. A USD 30 million round followed in 2018, and in 2020 it raised USD 145 million in a Series C led by Bain Capital Tech Opportunities. Permira Growth Opportunities bought a significant minority stake in May 2023, reported at about USD 40 million, and in May 2024 Permira agreed to take a majority position at an enterprise valuation of USD 1.3 billion, with existing shareholders Sapphire Ventures and Macquarie Capital increasing their investments. Reported total funding figures vary widely across databases. On 3 August 2026, Visa announced a definitive agreement to acquire BioCatch for USD 2.4 billion in cash, from funds advised by Permira and other shareholders. The deal is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close by the end of Visa's fiscal second quarter of 2027. BioCatch is to sit within Visa's value-added services unit, and its current leadership is expected to stay in place. BioCatch has said it serves more than 350 financial institutions in 21 countries, analyses billions of banking sessions a month and protects about 760 million users across 1.8 billion devices. Mazor said in 2024 that Permira's ownership would support expansion into Germany, France, the Netherlands and Japan and acquisitions aimed at AI-based threats.
Leadership
- Avi Turgeman, Co-founder
- Uri Rivner, Co-founder and Chief Cyber Officer
- Gadi Mazor, Chief Executive Officer
- Stefan Dziarski, Board member; Partner, Permira
- Ran Maidan, Board member; Senior Advisor and Head of Israel, Permira
- Dominik Pozny, Board member; Principal, Permira
- Liat Nadai Arad, Board member
- Sallie Krawcheck, Board member