Prelude

Prelude is a developer-infrastructure company that sells an SMS verification API used for user onboarding and authentication. Founded in 2022 and operating across Europe and North America, the firm serves customers in fintech, consumer apps and B2B software in more than 230 countries. Its multi-routing engine connects to over 30 SMS providers and selects routes in real time, using accumulated traffic volume to negotiate pricing. The company reports a 95% successful verification rate and average customer savings of 60% on SMS costs. Roughly 100 million user accounts have been verified through the platform.

The product line includes a four-layer, AI-powered fraud protection system designed to identify spam with precision; Prelude states that it blocks 99% of fraudulent attempts. The company is SOC 2 Type II compliant and positions authentication as a growth lever rather than a cost centre. Clients named by the company include BeReal, Alma, Sunday and Bitstack.

Prelude was founded by former members of the Zenly team and raised $8m in seed funding from investors including Singular and Seedcamp. The company says it reached product-market fit quickly. Its stated technical domains span SMS verification, authentication and onboarding, AI-powered fraud detection, telecom routing optimisation, real-time route selection, and fraud and spam prevention.