Prince Khaled Backs Major US Risk Assessment Company in Series D Round

Entrepreneur

26-06-2025

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Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed's KBW Ventures has joined a Series D round of US$60 million for Clearspeed, a San Diego-headquartered global voice-based risk assessment technology provider.
The round was led by Align Private Capital, with participation from IronGate Capital Advisors, Bravo Victor Venture Capital in addition to KBW Ventures. It brings the company's total funding to US$110 million.
General David H. Petraeus (US Army, Ret.) former CIA Director and Commander of U.S. Central Command, also joined as a multi-round investor.
"Clearspeed has demonstrated true dual-use potential—with scalable commercial results and meaningful impact in high-stakes environments," Nekoranec said. It's rare to see a solution that can reduce fraud, mitigate security threats, and save significant costs without creating friction for the end user. This is the innovation needed to build smarter, more human-centered systems of trust."
In insurance, Clearspeed consistently yields more than 30X return on investment by assessing risk early in the claims and underwriting process - driving faster, more accurate decisions that improve customer outcomes, including cutting claims handling time in half and increasing immediate payments to customers by 40%. Zurich Insurance—a global multi-line insurer serving 75 million customers across 200+ countries—has significantly accelerated claims payment to customers where they've implemented Clearspeed, allowing them to provide more immediate relief in moments of need.
"We see Clearspeed as a powerful complement to an insurer's multi-layered global risk strategy—offering a streamlined, trust-building experience for customers while helping to make more confident decisions and combat increasingly complex fraud," said Scott Clayton, Head of Claims Fraud, Zurich Insurance.
The Clearspeed team.
Government stakeholders increasingly view Clearspeed's commercial success as critical to combating fraud, waste, and abuse—and advancing national security priorities such as countering threat financing, drug testing, personnel vetting, and partner force screening. Agencies using Clearspeed have seen a 95% reduction in vetting cycle time and a 65% drop in investigation costs.
"As security threats evolve, so must the solutions designed to counter them," said General Petraeus (US Army, Ret.). "Clearspeed's AI-enabled voice analytics delivers outsized value for personnel vetting, insider threat mitigation, and enterprise security—where building trust quickly is paramount."
"This investment propels Clearspeed into a bold new chapter," said Alex Martin, co-founder and CEO of Clearspeed. "We're doubling down on the markets where trust and speed matter most—government, defense, insurance, banking—and expanding globally to meet the growing demand for secure, high-integrity screening. We're investing in our teams, accelerating innovation, and ensuring our technology stays ahead—not just to grow, but to help organizations worldwide realize the strategic advantage of rapidly establishing trust."