Canadian start-up Bionym raises $14 million in new round of funding

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian tech start-up Bionym said on Wednesday it has raised $14 million in a new round of funding led by Ignition Partners and Relay Ventures. Toronto-based Bionym makes a wearable security device dubbed Nymi, which is set to go on sale later this year. The wristband authenticates identity by using a person's cardiac rhythm, thus eliminating the need for passwords, pin codes and even keys. Bionym said other investors in its latest round of funding include Export Development Canada, MasterCard, and Salesforce Ventures, the corporate investment group of salesforce.com. "We are currently ramping up our manufacturing capabilities to support consumer, partner and developer demand," said Bionym Chief Executive Karl Martin. "This funding will help us meet our manufacturing milestones, and help us build a world-class team." Nick Sturiale, a managing partner with U.S.-based investment firm Ignition Partners, said he sees Nymi as a "potential game changer," noting a breadth of third-party application developer commitments that would allow Bionym to rapidly expand the uses of the device. The company, which already has about 40 employees and plans to continue to grow rapidly, said it has already received more than 10,000 pre-orders for its Nymi Band, which will be released later this fall. Garry Lyons, MasterCard's head of innovation, said he is keen to work closely with Bionym and explore ways to enable new payment experiences for consumers. (Reporting by Euan Rocha; Editing by James Dalgleish)