Unibeam, an Israeli startup redefining identity verification, has raised $6 million in seed funding led by NFX, with participation from AnD Ventures. The announcement comes at a critical time as global SIM swapping attacks are on the rise, creating an urgent need for stronger, more deterministic authentication solutions.

“With AI making it alarmingly easy to impersonate people online, we’re seeing a surge in digital fraud that traditional authentication methods can’t handle,” said Gigi Levy-Weiss, Founding Partner at NFX. “What excites us about Unibeam is that they’re not just improving authentication—they’re redefining it.”

The SIM Swapping Epidemic

In 2024 alone, unauthorized SIM swapping in the United Kingdom rose by a staggering 1,055%, climbing from 289 cases in 2023 to nearly 3,000, according to anti-fraud group Cifas. Identity fraud in the telecom sector increased by 87%, while facility takeover fraude rose 76% in the same period.

Even global corporations haven’t been spared. A report from Mobile ID World details how Microsoft and SK Telecom suffered major SIM swap attacks resulting in millions in damages. These attacks often involve sophisticated schemes, including eSIM hijacking, exploiting provisioning systems, or leveraging insider access.

SIM swap fraud is no longer just a personal risk. It’s a business risk, a telecom risk, a national infrastructure concern. Unibeam’s goal is to take identity verification out of the hands of guesswork and anchor it in cryptography and hardware.

A Deterministic, Friction-Free Alternative

Unibeam’s innovative solution ties a user’s identity to their SIM or eSIM card and device through cryptographic binding. This means that the user's identity is securely stored on their SIM card or device, eliminating the need for passwords, one-time codes, or authentication apps. This approach makes identity spoofing virtually impossible, providing a robust defense against SIM swapping attacks.

“There’s no app to download, no password to remember, no code to enter,” said Ben-David. “We’ve built Unibeam to be invisible to the user and invulnerable to attackers.”

The system is compatible with any phone, including smartphones and feature phones, as well as with any operating system. With universal SIM and eSIM compatibility and an API-based SaaS infrastructure, Unibeam is designed to authenticate both users and connected devices across global markets.

SIM Swap Scenarios: More than Just Phone Theft

The dangers of SIM swapping are multifaceted:

• Phishing-based takeovers: Criminals gather personal information to impersonate victims and contact telecom providers, rotating phone numbers to new SIMs.
• eSIM exploitation: Fraudsters request eSIM activations via social engineering or by exploiting weak provisioning systems.
• Enterprise-level attacks: Criminal networks target telecom or corporate infrastructure to conduct mass SIM swaps, affecting thousands of users.

These scenarios have all played out in recent years, underscoring the growing sophistication of SIM-based fraud and the inadequacy of legacy systems, such as SMS-based OTP, which the FBI and CISA have advised against.

Toward a Passwordless, Fraud-Resistant Future

With AI-driven impersonation nd SIM swap fraud becoming endemic, Unibeam’s $6M funding couldn’t be better timed. The company is addressing not just a security flaw, but an architectural vulnerability in digital identity. By eliminating user friction and relying on cryptographic device-level identity verification, Unibeam aims to set a new standard for trust in the digital age, one that scales globally, resists spoofing, and finally makes passwords obsolete.