Trulioo, the Vancouver-based global identity verification unicorn, announced that it has acquired HelloFlow, a Danish no-code builder of client onboarding, monitoring and digital workflow solutions.

Why it matters: For Trulioo CEO Steve Munford, the acquisition is all about speed. “We didn't have to make any acquisitions,” he told Vancouver Tech Journal. “But why we made one right now is we want to build out the leading end-to-end identity platform. We have many of the ingredients today. We had been embarking on doing this with our own resources, but this was a way of getting a full-scale orchestration platform… probably two years earlier than we would have done on our own.”

• It’s the second B.C. firm to make a major acquisition of a European company in two weeks. In late January, Victoria’s Certn acquired London’s Credence to grow its client roster in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Details: Trulioo’s product provides real-time verification of 5 billion consumers and 330 million business entities around the world through a single API integration. Organizations use its identity verification platform, GlobalGateway, to automate due diligence and fraud prevention. Copenhagen-based HelloFlow has developed a no-code platform that allows organizations to easily and quickly build and deploy digital onboarding journeys. The company’s 28-person team has created a drag-and-drop interface that removes time-consuming and expensive development costs. HelloFlow previously raised USD $1.6 million in seed capital.

When two become one: With the addition of HelloFlow, Trulioo’s customers are set to benefit from increased efficiencies as HelloFlow’s product will enable much simpler onboarding and workflow processes. “It’s remarkable what they’ve built in two years,” Munford shared.

So remarkable that Munford said his firm paid a “strategic price” (read: high) for a very young company. (The Globe and Mail reported this number to be north of USD $50 million.) Although Munford wouldn’t discuss the acquisition cost specifically, he said, “It was not a price that was justified by revenue, but it was by the team and the product. And I think if you look broadly in the reg tech space, there's been a lot of activity in this because there's such a huge problem to be solved. There will be a winner, and the winner will be the one with the complete platform. This is the piece that we felt we needed to be that winner.”

• Ecosystem evolution: Munford explained that historically, international companies came to Vancouver to buy companies for their people and products, but less because of revenue. “This is just our team doing the opposite,” he said.

Funding: The acquisition comes eight months after Trulioo said it raised CAD $476 million (USD $394 million) in a funding round led by venture capital firm TCV, with participation from existing investors Citi Ventures, Blumberg Capital, Mouro Capital and American Express Ventures.

On the horizon: With approximately 320 employees and more than $100 million in annual revenue, Trulioo plans to continue hiring and expanding globally. HelloFlow’s current locations and operations will support the company’s European expansion, the firm shared. Closer to home, the company will soon be moving into new digs in Main Alley, an innovation campus southeast of False Creek.