What Burnt does

Burnt is a source verification infrastructure company that enables businesses to cryptographically verify user-provided data directly from the original source rather than relying on uploaded documents or self-reported attributes. Its core platform, Truth, combines Zero-Knowledge Proofs, client-side secure sessions, and DKIM-based email verification to produce tamper-proof true/false results without exposing raw PII. The product suite is organized into three modules — Verify Documents, Verify Emails, and Verify Attributes — and is extended through vertical solutions for insurance claims, marketing and customer acquisition, loyalty program verification, and tenant screening (Burnt Screening). A permissionless architecture allows any HTTPS website where a user holds an account to function as a verification source, eliminating the need for API partnerships or data-sharing agreements.

The company is headquartered in New York with 11–50 employees and operates as a private entity through the Inferno Research Foundation in the Cayman Islands. It also maintains a layer-1 blockchain product, XION, which uses USDC as its primary currency and supports gasless transactions; XION has reported 200,000+ active wallets and a 75-partner ecosystem. Burnt was originally founded in 2021 as Burnt Finance, a decentralized NFT auction platform on Solana that raised an $8 million Series A led by Animoca Brands. In October 2023 the company rebranded to Burnt, pivoted to source verification infrastructure, launched the XION testnet, and secured a strategic investment from Circle Ventures; a $25 million round followed in April 2024.

Burnt's go-to-market is enterprise sales-led and API-first, with usage-based pricing, annual billing, and tailored proposals scoped to verification volume, integration requirements, and support needs. The customer base spans retail, commerce, insurance, real estate, and SaaS, with 100+ brand customers including Amazon, Samsung, Adidas, Tinder, Uber, The North Face, HelloFresh, Montblanc, EA, Gap, New Balance, and Sunglass Hut. SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 certifications are in progress, and the architecture is GDPR- and CCPA-compliant by design.

Name

Burnt

Legal name

Inferno Research Foundation

Website

https://burnt.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Burnt provides source verification infrastructure that uses Zero-Knowledge Proofs and client-side secure sessions to cryptographically verify user data directly from the original source, serving enterprise customers in insurance, real estate, marketing, and retail.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Identity & Source Verification Infrastructure

NAICS

Investigation and Personal Background Check Services (561611)

SIC

Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

Fraud Prevention & Identity Verification (IDV/KYC) (BPAMAEAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Identity Verification (ID, SSN Trace, KYC-lite) (BPACALAD), Identity Verification (IDV) & Document Verification (FSAMALAE), Fraud Investigations & Claims Support (Insurance/Financial) (BPAKAEAD), Proof of Reserves, Attestations & Custody Assurance (FSAPAJAH)

Keywords

• Source verification infrastructure
• Identity verification
• Zero knowledge proofs
• Tenant screening software
• Claims verification platform

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Verification Pricing: Pricing based on verification volume, integration requirements, and support needs. All customers get full platform access (all verification methods, API, webhooks, sandbox, dedicated onboarding, compliance-ready features, hands-on support). Tailored proposals based on expected volume.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Burnt operates a privacy-preserving source verification infrastructure (branded "Truth") that uses Zero-Knowledge Proofs to verify user data directly from the original source systems — payroll providers, credit bureaus, airline portals, DMV, loyalty programs, and any HTTPS website. Instead of accepting uploaded documents, users log into accounts they control and Burnt returns a tamper-proof cryptographic true/false result for the specific condition requested, with no raw PII retained. The platform is delivered via API/SDK and is used for tenant screening, insurance claims processing, and verified marketing/acquisition campaigns.

Product overview

Burnt operates as a verified data infrastructure company offering three core verification modules—Verify Documents, Verify Emails, and Verify Attributes—unified under the Truth platform. These products enable cryptographically verified, privacy-preserving source verification where users prove specific claims from accounts they control without exposing raw data. The company also offers vertical-specific solutions for insurance claims, marketing/acquisition, and tenant screening (Burnt Screening), while maintaining infrastructure operations on the Xion Blockchain layer-1 network. The architecture relies on Zero-Knowledge Proofs and selective disclosure to eliminate document fraud vectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• XION: A layer-1 blockchain designed for consumer adoption, featuring USDC as primary currency and gasless transactions.
• Truth

Quantifiable outcome

• Verification time reduced from 3-5 days to under 30 seconds
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature5 records

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Persona: Persona provides identity verification infrastructure (KYC/AML, document verification, database lookups) sold to enterprises for onboarding and fraud reduction. Directly overlaps Burnt's Verify Documents and Verify Attributes modules, targeting the same marketer, fintech, and platform buyer with similar API-first delivery.
• Veriff: Veriff delivers AI-powered identity verification, document verification, and AML screening to enterprises in fintech, mobility, and crypto. Comparable buyer segments (especially the crypto and financial-services overlap with XION use cases) and a comparable sales-led enterprise motion.
• Checkr: Checkr is a leading background and tenant-screening platform, directly comparable to Burnt Screening for property managers and landlords. Both target the same applicant flow (income, employment, background, eviction) but Checkr relies on traditional document/database checks while Burnt pitches direct-source verification.
• Certn: Certn provides applicant verification — background checks, credit checks, employment and income verification — aimed at landlords, property managers, and gig platforms. Directly comparable to Burnt's Burnt Screening product and adjacent to its Verify Attributes/income verification pitch, with global expansion overlap.
• Onfido: Onfido is a global identity verification provider combining document verification, biometrics, and database signals for KYC and onboarding. Overlaps with Burnt on the document-verification front but relies on a document-upload flow (the exact friction Burnt replaces) and explicit data-source integrations.
• Truework: Truework offers direct-source employment and income verification for lenders, landlords, and HR platforms — a tighter direct overlap with Burnt's Verify Attributes and Burnt Screening use cases. Both pitch deterministic, source-based income and employment checks against manual/document-based incumbents.
• Prove: Prove (formerly Payfone) provides phone-based and identity-based verification for onboarding, step-up auth, and fraud prevention. Comparable in selling deterministic identity signals to enterprises in financial services and consumer platforms to reduce onboarding friction and fraud.
• Alloy: Alloy orchestrates identity decisioning — pulling KYC, document verification, fraud signals, and database checks into a single API for banks and fintechs. Comparable API-first identity-infrastructure positioning to Burnt's Truth platform, though focused on traditional KYC data sources rather than direct-source HTTPS verification.

Broad incumbents

• Plaid: Plaid is the dominant financial account-linking and data-verification network with Plaid Income, Plaid Identity, and direct-source bank connections. Comparable to Burnt's source-verification story for income and employment, but with broader banking integrations and a much larger installed footprint across fintechs and lenders.
• Stripe Identity: Stripe Identity bundles document and biometric verification into Stripe's broader payments platform. Comparable verification primitive to Burnt's Verify Documents but delivered as a feature inside a much larger payments stack, reaching Stripe's massive merchant base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/burnt_vero
• Facebookfacebook.com/burntverify
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/burnt-finance

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors26 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Burnt