Sift

Sift, founded as Sift Science, makes machine learning software that online businesses use to block payment fraud, fake accounts, account takeovers, promotion abuse and spam, and to manage chargebacks. Brandon Ballinger, who had spent four years at Google fighting malicious ads, and his former college roommate Jason Tan, previously of Zillow, founded the company in June 2011. They went through Y Combinator's Summer 2011 batch. The company is headquartered in San Francisco and has had offices in Seattle, Scottsdale, Dublin and Kyiv.

Sift raised $1.5 million in seed funding and launched publicly in March 2013 with a round led by Union Square Ventures, whose partner Albert Wenger joined the board, bringing total funding to $5.5 million. Investors at that point included First Round Capital, Y Combinator, Founder Collective, SV Angel and Start Fund, plus angels including Max Levchin, Chris Dixon, Marc Benioff, Alex Rampell, Garry Tan and Rich Barton. Spark Capital also invested before 2016. In July 2016 Insight Venture Partners led a $30 million Series C, bringing total funding to $54 million. In March 2018 Stripes Group led a $53 million Series D with Union Square Ventures, Spark Capital and Insight, bringing the total to $107 million. In April 2021 Insight Partners led a $50 million Series E with Union Square Ventures and Stripes, valuing the company at more than $1 billion.

Sift remains private. By 2021 it said more than 700 brands used its platform, which processes more than $250 billion a year in transactions, and in May 2021 it acquired Chargeback, a chargeback automation company. Earlier customers named by the company include Twitter, Airbnb, Yelp, Indeed, Zillow and Wayfair. Leadership has changed since the founding era. Marc Olesen was chief executive in 2021, and in January 2023 the company appointed Kris Nagel, formerly chief operating officer of Ping Identity, as CEO.

Sift is a long-hold example of seed investing. First Round Capital, Founder Collective, Y Combinator and Union Square Ventures entered between 2011 and 2013 at a combined $5.5 million, and the company reached a valuation above $1 billion about ten years after founding. Insight's lead in both the Series C and the Series E reflects a growth investor doubling down. Without an IPO or sale, the early funds' gains remain on paper fifteen years in.