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Veriff acquires Vespia, advancing its vision for a unified Trust Platform

The acquisition strengthens Veriff’s KYB capabilities and marks a strategic step in expanding beyond identity verification toward a broader, single-vendor trust platform.

Tallinn – February 5, 2026 – Veriff today announced the acquisition of Vespia, an Estonia-based Know Your Business (KYB) technology provider. This acquisition strengthens Veriff’s KYB capabilities and marks a strategic step in expanding beyond identity verification toward a broader, single-vendor trust platform. The parties have agreed not to disclose the financial terms of the transaction.

This transaction brings together two companies with shared roots in the Estonian tech ecosystem. Veriff was founded by Kaarel Kotkas in 2015 with the ambition to make online identity verification more accurate than face-to-face checks. One of the first people to join the team was Julia Ront, Veriff’s second-ever employee, who helped shape the product and company culture during its early days.

In 2021, Julia Ront co-founded Vespia with Anton Vedešin. As CEO, she led the development of the KYB solution that helps companies verify businesses globally, enabling real-time verification across more than 300 jurisdictions.

“KYB has historically been slow, manual, and painful,” said Kaarel Kotkas, founder and CEO of Veriff. “We don’t want to fix it incrementally; we want to fundamentally rethink it. Do it 10 times better than it has been done before – real-time, end-to-end KYB from a single platform built to the same standard our customers expect from Veriff. That’s how KYB will work going forward.”

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We want to do it 10 times better than it has been done before – real-time, end-to-end KYB from a single platform built to the same standard our customers expect from Veriff.

Kaarel Kotkas Founder & CEO Veriff

As part of the acquisition, the Vespia team will join Veriff. The company will begin integrating the technology to make KYB commercially available across Veriff’s platform by mid-2026.

“This marks a major milestone for Vespia and the team that built our KYB platform from the ground up,” said Julia Ront, co-founder and CEO of Vespia. “We proved that business verification can be fast and global. Being part of Veriff, we can now scale that work within a larger, unified trust platform.”

The acquisition underscores the strength of Estonia’s startup ecosystem, where talent, shared values, and long-term relationships continue to fuel the creation of globally competitive technology companies.

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We proved that business verification can be fast and global. Being part of Veriff, we can now scale that work within a larger, unified trust platform.

Julia Ront Co-founder & CEO Vespia

About Veriff

Veriff is a global identity verification platform helping businesses build trust online. Our AI-native technology combines automation and human expertise to quickly and accurately verify users worldwide with minimal friction. Trusted by leading companies like Blockchain, Bolt, Deel, Monzo, Starship, Trustpilot, and Webull across finance, marketplaces, mobility, gaming, and other industries. Our trust infrastructure helps businesses stay compliant, prevent fraud, protect users, and scale globally, enabling a safer, more transparent internet for everyone. 

About Vespia 

Vespia is a Know Your Business (KYB) platform that helps companies automate business verification and speed up onboarding. Vespia enables fintechs, marketplaces, legal and investment firms, and other regulated and non-regulated entities to onboard customers, partners, and suppliers globally with speed and confidence. The platform combines automated workflows, global business data across 300+ jurisdictions, and deep KYB expertise to reduce manual effort and increase data accuracy.

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