Sony Innovation Fund by Innovation Growth Ventures (IGV) Invests in Arkose Labs

Company's prevention technologies are helping the gaming industry eliminate online fraud and abuse

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 04, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Arkose Labs, provider of online fraud and abuse prevention technology, today highlighted how the gaming industry is benefiting from its partnerships with companies like Microsoft, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Roblox, EA and Minecraft. As a testament to its leadership in online fraud and abuse detection, Arkose Labs is announcing that the Sony Innovation Fund, by Innovation Growth Ventures (IGV), is making an investment in the company. This investment follows Arkose Labs' 2020 $22 million Series B investment round led by M12, Microsoft's venture capital fund.

With many adults continuing to work remotely and children staying home (online gaming traffic rose 30% in the second quarter of 2020), there's an urgent need for companies to eliminate online gaming fraud and keep their customers safe online. By going beyond traditional fraud detection to address abuse of virtual economies, bot-driven in-game cheating, and bonus abuse, Arkose Labs provides powerful remediation against bot and human-driven attacks without disrupting good users. As a result, some of the world's best-known online gaming companies like Microsoft, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Roblox, EA and Minecraft trust Arkose Labs with keeping their gaming communities secure.

"Arkose Labs' innovative approach to fighting fraud has successfully scaled across multiple industries and we believe the company is on track for more growth," said Gen Tsuchikawa, CEO and Chief Investment Manager for Sony Innovation Fund (SIF) and Chief Investment Officer for Innovation Growth Ventures (IGV). "Not only does the company's platform create a frictionless experience for users, but its technology enables intelligence that remediates attacks in real-time while keeping customers ahead of evolving threats. We are excited to join forces with the team at Arkose Labs as they take on online fraudsters and make the digital world a safer place."

Gaming companies choose Arkose Labs for their innovative approach to fighting fraud, including:

• Looking beyond just remediation to gain actionable insights into user intent
• Providing user-centric authentication with fun challenges for good users, inspired by gamification
• Stopping ATO with the elimination of large-scale attacks on user accounts
• Eliminating real money trading and securing the in-game experience from auction house abuse, economy inflation and match-fixing
• Halting abusive behavior and protecting communication channels from spam and malicious content
• Providing easy implementation, rapid deployment, and instant results
• Protecting all live chat and other communication channels from malicious content and scams targeting good users
• Launching promotions and new customer acquisition giveaways, with robust protection to stop bonus abuse and fraud

"Fraud detection and prevention has never been more important, particularly in the realm of online gaming," said Arkose Labs CEO Kevin Gosschalk. "We look forward to continuing our work with the gaming industry to make online experiences safer in an ever-tumultuous world. With proven technology that breaks down the ROI of fraudsters and a newly expanded executive leadership team, we're in a stellar position to protect both individuals and businesses struggling with an onslaught of fraud brought on by increased digital adoption."

In addition to working with Microsoft, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Roblox, EA and Minecraft, Arkose Labs has been working with other leading gaming companies to fight account takeovers, eliminating the creation of fake accounts and protecting gamers across both their web and desktop launcher experiences.

Additionally, Arkose Labs was recognized for its ongoing commitment to online fraud detection when it was named a 2020 Gartner Cool Vendor for Identity Access Management and Fraud Detection.