Identity management investors pushing passwordless and IAM tech in 2026

Identity management got serious funding in 2026. AI agents created millions of new identities that need managing. Passwordless auth became table stakes. And investors poured $11B across 219 deals into startups building IAM platforms, verification tools, and access management systems.

If you're building identity infrastructure, you need investors who understand the technical complexity. Not every VC knows the difference between CIAM and workforce IAM, or why machine identities matter now. These 15 investors do. They've backed companies through regulatory changes, helped scale authentication systems to millions of users, and understand why identity is the new security perimeter.

Quick list

Finding the right investor for your identity startup

Find investors who've backed companies through real identity crises. YOL Ventures and Hetz Ventures focus on Israeli founders building deep tech – they understand compliance complexity better than generalists. Ask their portfolio companies how they handled GDPR implementation or SOC 2 audits. Most VCs say they add value, but identity security requires specific expertise in regulatory frameworks such as those covered in our guide on protecting pitch decks.

Experience: Look for investors who backed identity companies that scaled past 10M users. That's where the hard problems start - rate limiting, regional data residency, audit logging at scale. Seed investors rarely understand Series B problems, so ensure your evaluation process includes strong investor outreach fundamentals.

Network: Identity sales cycles are long. You need investors who can intro you to CISOs and IT directors at Fortune 500 companies, not just other founders. Ask about their corporate LP base.

Alignment: Workforce IAM investors don't always get consumer identity use cases. CIAM has different economics - higher volume, lower contract values, complex integration requirements. Make sure they've funded similar business models before.

Track record: Check if their portfolio companies raised follow-on rounds. Dead identity startups usually ran out of money before product-market fit. Series A to Series B is where most fail, so review their history and share critical documents through DocSend alternatives that give you better control.

Communication: Use Ellty to share your deck with trackable links. You'll see who actually opens your financial projections versus just skimming the intro.

Value-add: Generic "we have a great network" answers mean nothing. Ask what specific help they provided during security incidents or regulatory changes. You want examples, not promises.

Reaching out to identity management investors

Research recent deals on Crunchbase or PitchBook. Identity investors are stage-specific. YL Ventures does seed, NEA does Series D. Don't pitch Series D investors with a pre-seed deck. Show your authentication success rates and false positive percentages in your pitch. Most investors are tired of "we're building the future of identity" without unit economics showing how you'll actually make money.

Identify potential investors: Look for VCs who led identity rounds in the past 18 months, not five years ago. The market changed. AI agents and machine identities weren't priorities in 2020. Use LinkedIn to find their portfolio companies' CISOs and ask about response times during security incidents.

Craft a compelling pitch: Lead with your threat detection accuracy or time-to-verify metrics. Every IAM pitch mentions zero trust and passwordless. Show how your false rejection rate compares to Auth0 or Okta.

Share your pitch deck: Upload to Ellty and send trackable links. Monitor which pages investors spend time on - if they skip your competitive analysis, that's useful information. Most investors spend under 3 minutes on first-pass decks, so prevent unintended access with PDF forwarding controls.

Utilize your network: Message portfolio founders on LinkedIn and ask about actual value-add during due diligence and board meetings. Most will be honest. Warm intros convert 10x better than cold emails.

Attend networking events: RSA Conference, Oktane, and Identiverse are where identity deals actually happen. Skip the small local cybersecurity meetups. Pay attention to which VCs are speaking or sponsoring.

Engage on online platforms: Connect with partners on LinkedIn after you've been introduced by a portfolio founder. Cold DMs to VCs rarely work. Comment thoughtfully on their posts about identity trends, but don't spam.

Organize due diligence: Set up an Ellty data room with your security audit reports, penetration test results, and compliance certifications before they ask. It speeds up the process and shows you understand enterprise sales.

Set up introductory meetings: Lead with your customer retention numbers and deployment speed. Don't waste 20 minutes on market size slides they've seen 100 times. Identity investors care about integration complexity and time-to-production.

Why identity management matters now in 2026

AI agents now outnumber humans online. Every agent needs authentication, permissions, and audit trails. Traditional user-directory approaches don't work for millions of machine identities that never log in through a browser, making secure document-sharing practices even more critical.

Spending on identity and access management hit $24B in 2026, up 13% from 2024. The market's growing because remote work made perimeter security obsolete. Cloud adoption means employees access dozens of SaaS apps, each needing authentication. Companies are finally replacing password-based systems after years of breaches.

15 top identity management investors

1. YL Ventures

Focused on Israeli cybersecurity founders building enterprise security infrastructure.

• Recent Deals: Opti $20M seed (November 2025), manages $800M+ focused exclusively on Israeli early-stage cybersecurity
• LinkedIn: Yoav Leitersdorf
• Sector Focus: Cybersecurity, Identity Security, Cloud Security
• Stage Focus: Seed, Pre-Seed
• Location: Palo Alto, USA
• Website: ylventures.com

2. Founders Fund

Backs contrarian founders building hard tech across AI, bio, and deep infrastructure.

• Recent Deals: Persona $200M Series D at $2B valuation (April 2025), Lighter $68M (November 2025)
• LinkedIn: Peter Thiel
• Sector Focus: Deep Tech, AI, Identity Infrastructure, Crypto
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C, Series D
• Location: San Francisco, USA
• Website: foundersfund.com

3. Ribbit Capital

Fintech and identity infrastructure specialist investing globally in financial services technology.

• Recent Deals: Persona $200M Series D (April 2025), ID.me $340M (September 2025), $12B AUM
• LinkedIn: Micky Malka
• Sector Focus: Fintech, Identity Verification, Payments, Digital Identity
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C, Series D
• Location: Palo Alto, USA
• Website: ribbitcap.com

4. New Enterprise Associates (NEA)

Large growth-stage investor backing enterprise software and identity security platforms.

• Recent Deals: Veza $108M Series D at $808M valuation (April 2025)
• LinkedIn: Aaron Jacobson
• Sector Focus: Enterprise Software, Identity Security, Cybersecurity
• Stage Focus: Series B, Series C, Series D, Growth
• Location: Menlo Park, USA
• Website: nea.com

5. Mayfield Fund

Early-stage and growth investor focusing on AI, enterprise tech, and deep technology.

• Recent Deals: Opti $20M seed (November 2025)
• LinkedIn: Navin Chaddha
• Sector Focus: Enterprise Technology, AI, Identity Security, Deep Tech
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B
• Location: Menlo Park, USA
• Website: mayfield.com

6. Hetz Ventures

Israeli VC investing in deep tech founders operating at the cutting edge of innovation.

• Recent Deals: Opti $20M seed (November 2025)
• LinkedIn: Hetz Ventures Team
• Sector Focus: Deep Tech, Data Analytics, Cybersecurity, Identity Management
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A
• Location: Herzliya, Israel
• Website: hetz.vc

7. Accel

Global early-stage investor with 1,000+ portfolio companies including identity leaders.

• Recent Deals: Veza $108M Series D (April 2025), active in 117 deals in 2025
• LinkedIn: Accel Partners
• Sector Focus: Enterprise Applications, SaaS, Identity Security, Consumer Tech
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C
• Location: Palo Alto, USA
• Website: accel.com

8. Insight Partners

Software-focused growth investor managing $90B+ across 850+ companies.

• Recent Deals: Transmit Security $543M Series A at $2.2B pre-money (June 2021)
• LinkedIn: Jeff Horing
• Sector Focus: Software, Identity Management, Enterprise Infrastructure, SaaS
• Stage Focus: Series B, Series C, Series D, Growth
• Location: New York, USA
• Website: insightpartners.com

9. General Atlantic

Global growth equity firm investing in technology and identity infrastructure.

• Recent Deals: Transmit Security $543M Series A (June 2021)
• LinkedIn: Paul Stamas
• Sector Focus: Technology, Financial Services, Identity Infrastructure
• Stage Focus: Series B, Series C, Series D, Growth
• Location: New York, USA
• Website: generalatlantic.com

10. GV (Google Ventures)

Google's venture arm backing transformative technology companies across stages.

• Recent Deals: Veza $108M Series D (April 2025), active across identity governance
• LinkedIn: David Krane
• Sector Focus: AI, Enterprise Software, Identity Security, Healthcare
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C, Series D
• Location: Mountain View, USA
• Website: gv.com

11. BOND

Growth-stage investor backing category-defining technology companies globally.

• Recent Deals: Persona $200M Series D (April 2025)
• LinkedIn: Mary Meeker
• Sector Focus: SaaS, Consumer, Identity Platforms, Marketplaces
• Stage Focus: Series B, Series C, Series D, Growth
• Location: San Francisco, USA
• Website: bondcap.com

12. Coatue

Technology investor managing $50B+ across public and private markets.

• Recent Deals: Persona $200M Series D (April 2025), Veza $108M Series D (April 2025)
• LinkedIn: Thomas Laffont
• Sector Focus: Technology, Identity Infrastructure, AI, Enterprise Software
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B, Series C, Series D, Growth, Public
• Location: New York, USA
• Website: coatue.com

13. Index Ventures

Multi-stage venture investor backing transformative technology companies in Europe and US.

• Recent Deals: Persona $200M Series D (April 2025)
• LinkedIn: Mike Volpi
• Sector Focus: Enterprise Software, Identity Platforms, Consumer, Security
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C, Series D
• Location: San Francisco and London
• Website: indexventures.com

14. First Round Capital

Early-stage investor known for backing founders at company inception.

• Recent Deals: Persona $200M Series D (April 2025, original early investor)
• LinkedIn: Josh Kopelman
• Sector Focus: Consumer, Enterprise, Identity Platforms, SaaS
• Stage Focus: Pre-seed, Seed, Series A
• Location: San Francisco and Philadelphia, USA
• Website: firstround.com

15. Sequoia Capital

Leading venture firm backing legendary technology companies including Okta.

• Recent Deals: Early Okta investor (now $20B+ market cap), active in identity infrastructure
• LinkedIn: Roelof Botha
• Sector Focus: Enterprise, Identity Platforms, AI, Consumer, Healthcare
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C, Series D, Growth
• Location: Menlo Park, USA
• Website: sequoiacap.com

Track your identity investor outreach

These 15 investors closed deals from 2023 to 2026. Before you start reaching out, set up proper tracking. Most founders waste months sending decks to the wrong stage investors or pitching workforce IAM specialists with consumer identity use cases.

Upload your deck to Ellty and create a unique link for each investor. You'll see exactly which slides they view and how long they spend on your financials. Most founders are surprised to learn investors skip their market size slides but spend 5+ minutes on unit economics. That tells you what to lead with in the first meeting.

When investors ask for more materials during due diligence, share an Ellty data room instead of messy email threads. Your cap table, financial model, security audit reports, and SOC 2 certification in one secure place with view analytics. You'll know if they actually reviewed your compliance docs or just claimed they did.

Common questions

How do I know if an investor is still active in identity management?

Check their last three deals. If they haven't led an identity round in 18+ months, they probably shifted focus. Look at fund size too - if they raised a $1B fund, they won't write $3M checks anymore.

Should I cold email identity investors or get introductions?

Warm intros convert 10x better. Message founders from their portfolio companies on LinkedIn. Most will make intros if your tech is relevant. Cold emails work maybe 2% of the time.

What's the difference between seed and Series A identity investors?

Seed investors (YL Ventures, Hetz) fund pre-revenue companies with strong technical founders. Series A investors (NEA, Insight) want $1M+ ARR and proven enterprise sales motion. Don't waste time pitching the wrong stage.

How many identity investors should I reach out to?

Start with 10-15 that match your stage and focus area. Track response rates in Ellty. If you're getting 0% response after 20 emails, your deck or target list is wrong.

When should I set up a data room for identity investors?

Set it up before first meetings. Serious identity investors will ask for security audit reports, compliance certifications, and penetration test results within 48 hours of the first call. Have it ready.

Do investors actually care about pitch deck analytics?

Yes. Smart investors use their own tracking too. They want to see if you're monitoring your fundraising process. It shows you understand metrics and measurement, which matters for identity companies selling to enterprises.