Victoria’s Certn raises $65M to fund global expansion of its background check solution

Originally published May 10 on vantechjournal.com.

Background-screening tech startup Certn announced that it’s secured CAD $65 million (USD $50 million) in Series B funding, led by B Capital. Seven other investors contributed to the round, including BMO, Tribe, Inovia Capital, Telstra Ventures, Scribble, Moxxie Ventures, and Gaingels Covalent Ventures.

The round follows last year’s $43 million funding raise and brings the Victoria-based company’s total haul to $108 million since its founding.

Certn CEO Andrew McLeod said the company will invest the capital into expansion, including its partnership programs and hiring global team members. “We’re committed to investing in our current and future Certn employees—Certonians—to provide the best background screening services possible,” he said.

The news comes four months after Certn acquired Credence, a provider of background checks in the United Kingdom, with the goal of expanding its offering and client roster in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

Founded in 2016, Certn was launched when its founders saw the business case while building their previous startup, RentMoola, which provided rent collections and credit checks online. They noticed the current credit rating systems weren’t fully capturing the profiles of ideal candidates as accurately as they could be. They started Certn to solve that problem.

Not long after its founding, the company won the Top Regional Startup Prize at the 2017 New Ventures BC Competition Awards. Since then, it's been recognized as a KPMG Private Enterprise Tech Innovator in Canada, a Deloitte Technology Fast 50™ Awards Company to Watch, and one of The Globe and Mail’s 2021 Top Growing Companies, among other accolades.

Last year, Certn brought on Susan Davis as its first chief technology officer to expedite product development and boost its engineering culture, speed, and efficiency. After the Credence acquisition, the Certn teamed ballooned to 270 people globally. Today, the business is 300 employees strong.