Facebook’s inconspicuous co-founder, Eduardo Saverin, is leading the way in funding top-secret Mountain View, CA start-up, Jumio. Founded in 2010, Jumio claims to be devising a product that will end the need for cash.
This past Thursday, Saverin led a round of investing that brought 6.5 million dollars to the company, now 35 employees strong.
CEO Daniel Mattes had this to say: “The ways online and mobile payments are handled today are practically outdated. There is a lot of space for innovation, and our mission is to make online and mobile payments as simple and secure as a handshake.”
This isn’t the first time Saverin has shown an appetite for “incredibly innovative” start-ups. He recently invested heavily in Qwiki, a website ecosystem that delivers content to users in a manner never before seen. Qwiki is expected to be the standard for user content experience within the next five years.
Saverin’s vision for the Internet is ripe with enormous energy. But he doesn’t take his investing lightly. Saverin’s walked away from numerous start-up solicitations, which he’s critiqued with similar energy. When it comes to Jumio, however, Saverin thinks he’s found gold:  “I’m usually a critical person, but the last time I have seen such a disruptive idea was actually Facebook.”