Certn company profile: valuation, funding & revenue

This Certn company profile covers the company's valuation, revenue, funding rounds, investors and history. Certn works in HR technology, with a focus on background screening. It was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Its latest valuation on record is About US$450 million post-money (reported) (2023). Every figure links to a public source, and anything the company hasn't disclosed is marked as such.

Revenue

Funding history

Certn timeline

Key dates from the sources on this page, oldest first. Metric snapshots are listed after the funding events.

• 2016 — Certn is founded in Victoria by Andrew McLeod (CEO), Owen Madrick and Evan Dalton.
• May 2022 — Series B: US$50M (about C$65.1M). Investors: B Capital (lead); BMO, Tribe Capital, Inovia Capital, Telstra Ventures, Scribble Ventures, Moxxie Ventures, Gaingels.
• Apr 2023 — Series B extension: US$30M, valuing the company at About US$450M post-money (reported). Investors: Export Development Canada (lead, more than US$29.5M), plus pro rata from existing investors.
• Feb 2025 — Growth investment: $30M. Investors: BDC Capital's Growth Venture Fund.

Investors

Overview

Certn runs background checks. Employers use it to screen job candidates, landlords use it to check prospective tenants, and other organizations use it for identity and compliance checks. Its pitch is speed and simplicity: checks that traditionally took days, involving paperwork, fax machines and phone calls, can often be completed online much faster, with the candidate going through a guided digital process.

Certn was started in Victoria, British Columbia. Andrew McLeod, now CEO, developed the initial concept in 2016 with co-founders Owen Madrick and Evan Dalton, according to the company's own history. Victoria's Alacrity Canada, a local incubator, provided early capital and support. Certn is one of the larger tech companies to come out of Vancouver Island.

Why background screening is a big market

Background checks are a routine part of hiring in many industries: financial services, healthcare, education, transportation, the gig economy and more. Rental housing adds another huge volume of checks. Requirements vary by country, province and state, and the underlying data sources (criminal records, identity documents, credit information, employment and education verification) are fragmented.

That fragmentation is the opportunity. A provider that can connect to many data sources, handle the legal rules in each jurisdiction and deliver results quickly through software has a real advantage over traditional, manual screening firms. The flip side is that the business is highly regulated, and getting compliance wrong carries serious consequences.

Funding history

Certn's funding has come from a mix of venture investors, financial institutions and Canadian government-backed lenders.

Early rounds: Alacrity Canada led Certn's seed investment and a convertible debt round. In 2021, the company raised a further US$34.1 million, according to reports at the time of its Series B.

May 2022, Series B: US$50 million, about C$65.1 million, led by B Capital. Other participants included BMO, Tribe Capital, Inovia Capital, Telstra Ventures, Scribble Ventures, Moxxie Ventures and Gaingels.

April 2023, Series B extension: US$30 million led by Export Development Canada, the federal export credit agency, which provided more than US$29.5 million of the total, with the rest coming from existing investors taking their pro rata. That brought the Series B to US$80 million in total. BetaKit reported a post-money valuation of around US$450 million.

February 2025: a $30 million investment from BDC Capital's Growth Venture Fund, according to press reports. Coverage at the time also noted the departure of Certn's president.

Having two federal Crown corporations, EDC and BDC, as major investors is notable. EDC's mandate is supporting Canadian companies' international expansion, which matched Certn's goals for the extension.

Growth through acquisitions

Certn has used acquisitions to enter new countries. It bought Credence, a UK background screening provider, and InterCheck in Australia. Buying a local provider gives a background check company immediate access to local data sources, compliance expertise and customers, which are slow to build from scratch. The Series B extension was earmarked for expansion in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific.

Revenue: what's public

Certn hasn't published its revenue, and we haven't found a reliable company-reported figure. Its revenue model is mostly per-check or per-package pricing, often with volume commitments from larger customers. That means revenue depends heavily on hiring volumes and rental activity, which rise and fall with the economy. When companies slow hiring, the number of background checks falls too.

Competitive landscape

Background screening is a crowded market. Large global screening companies have deep data networks and long-standing enterprise relationships. Newer, software-first providers compete on speed and user experience. Applicant tracking and HR systems increasingly integrate screening directly, which makes partnerships important. Certn's strategy combines a modern platform with acquisitions of established local providers to build international reach.

Lessons from Certn's path

• You can build a large company outside the big hubs. Victoria isn't Toronto or Vancouver, but Certn attracted international investors.
• Government-backed capital can fill gaps. EDC and BDC provided substantial funding in a tougher market. See our guide on non-dilutive and government funding.
• Extensions can bridge to the next stage. The 2023 extension added capital without a full new round. Our bridge round guide explains when that makes sense.

What to watch next

Watch whether Certn continues to expand internationally through acquisitions, and how leadership changes affect its direction. As with all background check providers, regulatory developments around data privacy, criminal record use in hiring and tenant screening rules can change both demand and how checks must be performed. A new priced round or a sale would also show how the market values the company now compared with the reported US$450 million figure from 2023.

Key facts at a glance

Certn is a background screening company based in Victoria, B.C., founded in 2016 by Andrew McLeod, Owen Madrick and Evan Dalton. It raised a US$50 million Series B led by B Capital in 2022 and a US$30 million extension led by Export Development Canada in 2023, at a reported valuation of about US$450 million. In 2025 it received $30 million from BDC Capital. It has expanded through acquisitions in the UK and Australia.

Questions to ask a background check provider

• What's the typical turnaround time for each check type in the jurisdictions you hire in?
• How does the provider keep up with local rules on what can and can't be checked?
• What does the candidate experience look like on a phone?
• Which applicant tracking and HR systems does it integrate with?

What this means if you're…

Selling to Certn: a regulated, data-heavy company expanding internationally buys data partnerships, security and compliance tools, identity verification, and integration support.

An employer or landlord: compare screening providers on turnaround times in your specific jurisdictions, compliance support, candidate experience and integration with your HR or property systems.

A founder outside a major hub: Certn's investor list shows how local incubators, Canadian banks and federal Crown corporations can combine with international VCs. See raising money in Canada.

Latest developments (October 2026)

Certn has not announced new funding since its 2023 Series B extension, in which Export Development Canada provided most of a US$30 million addition. The background screening company continues to operate in Canada, the US, the UK and Australia after its 2022 acquisition of UK-based Credence. The reported 2023 valuation of about US$450 million remains the latest reference figure.

Sources

Every figure on this page comes from the public sources below. Where sources disagreed, we used the company's own announcement or a primary news report. Private-company data changes; check the date beside each figure.

1. BetaKit
2. Techleap (summarising press reports)
3. BetaKit