Digital securing firm opening office in region, adding 500 jobs

TAMPA — Virginia-based ID.me is opening a new office in Tampa and will bring 500 jobs with it.

The digital security firm, which is headquartered in the Washington, D.C. suburbs,  made the announcement in a press release Thursday but gave no indication on when the move would be made. It did say that it hoped to hire employees in the area by the end of this year.

Id.me is an identity authentication company and says it does work for 26 states, multiple federal agencies and 400 retailers.

The company, which is now valued at $1.5 billion, raised a $100 million in March in a Series C funding round.

In Thursday’s release, it said that the move to Tampa “tracks with the company’s explosive growth due to the digital migration of many critical services during the pandemic.”

“These services, like accessing government benefits or healthcare records, require a trusted identity to ensure individuals are who they say they are and to combat fraud,” the company says.

According to its website, “through March 20th, ID.me prevented 1.2 million fraudulent claims from international and domestic criminals — saving taxpayers more than $24 billion.”

In a video posted to the website, founder and CEO Blake Hall says of picking Tampa that “when we think about our member support and our cultural values, it was just a great fit.”