In this discussion, Krishna Srinivasan from Frost & Sullivan interviews Michael Reitblat from Forter, sharing insights on how digital commerce is being transformed by AI, automation, and identity-first innovation. This will help companies optimize trust, scale, and customer experience (CX) in an increasingly hybrid and digital world.
Frost & Sullivan’s Transformational Growth Leadership Program aims to honor visionary business leaders who possess the foresight and leadership acumen to drive positive change within their organizations.
Megatrends Revolutionizing Cybersecurity
Krishna Srinivasan: Thank you, Michael for joining us today.
Can you tell us a little about the technology journey that led to the creation of Forter as we know it today?
Michael Reitblat: Before Forter, I spent years working in cybersecurity and fraud prevention. It was a natural progression—my co-founders and I had a shared vision from our time at Fraud Sciences and wanted to take that vision further. We saw an opportunity to build something bigger, bolder, and more transformative by leveraging the technologies that were starting to reshape the world: the internet, mobile, cloud, and AI.
When we launched in 2013, I had to convince people that e-commerce was going to be massive. Hitting the $200 billion milestone was a big moment—but even then, I found myself having to convince others that AI could work in this space.
Fast forward to today, we’re operating on entirely new models. The conversation has shifted. People are more open to the idea that AI is transformational. Now, we’re not just watching the future unfold, we’re helping shape it.
Krishna Srinivasan: Let’s delve into the big picture—the transformational nature of the digital commerce industry. What do you see as the two or three truly transformative trends?
Michael Reitblat: Let me start with the transformations we’ve already driven.
First, we moved from a manual, rules-based approach to fully automated systems. A surprising number of companies still rely on people writing rules and manually reviewing transactions to detect fraud. It’s slow and reactive. We transformed that by automating the entire process, bringing decision times down to 200 milliseconds or faster.
Second, we focused on connectivity. Fraudsters thrive on fragmentation, exploiting the fact that merchants don’t share information, to repeat the same attack across different businesses until someone catches on. But when everything is connected, they only get one shot. Today, Forter reviews and approves over $350 billion in transactions annually—more than anyone except Amazon. If someone tries a novel attack on one of our merchants, we detect the pattern, identify the bad actor, and block them across the board.
Further, it’s not just about stopping fraud, it’s about recognizing good customers, too. Take me, for example: I have credit cards from four countries, I travel constantly, I use multiple eSIMs, I buy new devices yearly, and I break my laptop more often than I’d like to admit. To many merchants, I look like a suspicious new customer. But I’m just someone who loves discovering new things online. Forter’s ability to recognize me (and others like me) means we can deliver a great experience to legitimate customers who might otherwise be blocked.
Third, we’re shifting from anomaly detection to identity-based authentication. Instead of asking, “Does this transaction look risky?” we ask, “Do we know who this is?” If I know it’s Krishna, I don’t care that you’re in a new location, using a new phones or typing with your non-dominant hand because you broke your arm skiing. Those signals might look suspicious in isolation, but if we know it’s you, it’s not a problem. The combination of these three forces—automation, connectivity, and identity-based authentication—has been incredibly effective.
Looking ahead, the trends aren’t just futuristic, they’re already here. In early 2023, we realized that our human-centric approach wouldn’t be enough going forward. Suddenly, we started seeing legitimate non-human buyers. Bots have been around forever, but today, they’re sophisticated, purpose-built agents that are good actors. This changes everything. It means we need to evolve our models, infrastructure, and thinking. Because the future of commerce isn’t just human, it’s hybrid.
Harnessing AI for Long-term Competitive Differentiation
Krishna Srinivasan: In such a competitive market—where nearly every company is touting AI, how do you differentiate Forter’s AI and data strategy to create real value for customers?
Michael Reitblat: Customers don’t care about the buzzwords; they care about outcomes. They’re not asking, “What’s the latest tech you’re using?” They’re asking, “What’s in it for me?”
Everyone’s under pressure to “get some AI.” Boards are literally saying, “Buy me AI by the pound.” It sounds absurd, but it’s happening. The real question should be: “What problem are we solving, and is AI the right tool for it?”
At Forter, we’ve invested heavily in AI infrastructure, to make it work at scale. Our AI is built to recognize digital identities accurately, even under massive load. Last holiday season, we tested up to 10,000 transactions per second. That kind of throughput requires serious engineering.
Another differentiator is platform breadth. If you’re a merchant, you don’t want to deploy five different fraud tools to solve five different problems. You want one platform that covers everything to future-proof authentication strategies and serve customers with confidence.
And those customers aren’t just humans anymore. We’re entering a world where non-human and delegated identities are part of the equation. Forter already has the best human identity intelligence in the market, and now we’ve got a two-year head start on non-human and delegated authentication. That puts us in a position to say to any company, “Whatever’s coming—we’ve got you covered.”
We also invest heavily in R&D. Every dollar we put into product development makes Forter stronger and delivers better outcomes for our customers. We’ve built a strong platform, a solid go-to-market strategy, and great service. That balance is what sets us apart.
Driving Customer-centric Innovation
Krishna Srinivasan: It’s critically important for CEOs to stay connected to customers. So, when customers hear the name Forter, what should they think?
Michael Reitblat: We put a lot of thought and investment into how we treat our customers.
One of our core values is “listen first.” We really try to live by that. We don’t pretend to have all the answers. I travel constantly to meet with customers around the world, because that’s how we learn and evolve.
That said, I think we need to invest more in brand awareness. A lot of people still haven’t heard of Forter. And when they do, the reaction is, “Oh, I thought you were just a cool startup.” Then I explain what we do, and they’re surprised by our scale and impact. That’s a common theme.
To customers, I always say: Think of us as an extension of your team. Tell us your business goals, and let’s work on them together. I might not have the perfect solution today, but chances are, your challenges are like those of your peers—and we’re building for all of you.
Our retention rates are strong, and we’re proud of that. But we’re also aware of the risk that comes with growth. As companies get bigger, there’s a temptation to get comfortable, to cut costs and chase profitability at the expense of innovation. We’re not doing that.
In fact, I ask my CTO, “If we had to rebuild everything from scratch today, what would we do differently?” That’s a conversation we have often. Because technical debt is real—it’s what holds companies back. If you’re stuck on legacy systems, you can’t just plug in AI. You’ve got to take three steps back before you can move forward. We don’t want to be in that position. And we don’t want our customers to be in that position either.
Strategic Partnerships for Coopetition and Shared Success
Krishna Srinivasan: The essence of transformational growth is staying ahead of your customers and most successful brands go beyond delivering value; they create emotional connections. You’ve touched on that. Now let’s shift gears to discuss the role of partners in Forter’s growth aspirations.
Michael Reitblat: Partnerships are critical to our strategy. We think about them in three main categories. First, we have technology partners, companies that help us deliver better outcomes to our shared customers. Then there are distribution partners, who help us go to market more effectively. And finally, we have ecosystem partners (like payment providers) where collaboration reduces friction across the board. If we don’t work together, the whole system can break down.
The reality is, we can’t build everything ourselves. No matter how much we invest in R&D, there are areas where others are simply better because it’s their core expertise.
For example, when we expanded internationally, we partnered with three companies to support various banks across regions. Each one had strengths in specific geographies or with certain institutions. By collaborating with them, we were able to offer better uptime, lower latency, and ultimately process more transactions.
We’re also constantly testing partnerships with startups. Right now, we’re running experiments with early-stage companies that have great ideas. We start by being their first big customer, testing their tech across our network. If it works, we help them scale. That’s a model we’ll be focusing on, especially in an AI-driven era where innovation is exploding.
Fostering Culture That Maximizes Innovative Thinking
Krishna Srinivasan: Culture plays a huge role in shaping a company’s trajectory, and you’ve built a strong culture of innovation at Forter. As the founder, how has that culture helped get you to where you are today, and how do you see it evolving?
Michael Reitblat: We’ve built Forter around a mindset of curiosity, challenge, and long-term thinking. We’ve always encouraged people to question assumptions and that’s how we’ve stayed ahead. We constantly challenge our existing business practices. That doesn’t mean we change everything or reinvent the company. But we ask: are these practices still right for 2025 and beyond, especially when AI is evolving so rapidly?
When AI first started gaining traction, I underestimated how quickly it would move. I told our CTO, “Yes, it’s coming, but like the internet, the cloud, or Apple Pay, it’ll take a decade.” Thankfully, I realized within a few months that this time is different—AI is advancing much faster. So, we embraced it and made it part of our culture.
We value both continuity and fresh perspectives. Many of our team members have been with us for over a decade, and we celebrate that longevity. At the same time, we actively bring in talent from other companies to challenge our thinking. I tell every new hire:” I don’t need you to agree with me, I already have my own opinion. I need you to tell me where I’m wrong.”
In the past, people told me neural networks wouldn’t work. I disagreed, but more importantly, our CTO said, ‘I know how to make them work,” and he did. That’s the kind of thinking we encourage.
Looking ahead, the biggest challenge is to keep that culture alive as we scale. It’s easy to get comfortable when you’re growing. But we can’t afford to be complacent.
Scaling Security and Technology Amid Changing Industry Dynamics
Krishna Srinivasan: What excites you most about the future? And just as importantly, what keeps you up at night?
Michael Reitblat: First, AI. We throw a lot under the “AI” umbrella, and not all of it is meaningful. But the pace of innovation is unlike anything we’ve seen before. Everything is building on top of everything else, agents built on LLMs [Large Language Models], even for non-textual tasks. It’s moving so fast that I don’t even try to predict beyond the next 6 to 18 months.
And that’s exciting, because the core problem Forter is solving—digital identity—is far from finished. We have a 5–6% market share, and I believe the other 94% could benefit from what we do. But the identity space is incredibly fragmented, and it’s only getting more so as innovation accelerates.
You probably remember the book “Crossing the Chasm.” I always say the author missed a step: after the tech enthusiasts come the fraudsters. If your product survives them, then you can talk to your early adopters. We’re seeing fraudsters using tools like OpenAI’s models—there’s “FraudGPT,” “ScamGPT,” they’re not even trying to hide it.
This is where Forter has an advantage. Fraudsters only need to break one company to succeed. But we’ve connected the ecosystem. We have more data, resources, and the ability to adapt. That gives us an asymmetrical edge. The pace of change in fraud might worry our competitors, but it doesn’t worry me.
What does keep me up at night is scale. As we grow, we’re hiring in more countries, and we have to evolve our culture to keep up. That’s hard work. It’s easy to say, “This is working, let’s just keep growing.” But we’ve always grown responsibly.
Finally, I’m not worried about the competitors I know. I know who they are and what they’re doing. What I don’t know is the next 20 companies being built in someone’s garage. A year ago, you couldn’t build fast enough. Now, with the tools available, you can. That’s the wildcard that keeps me sharp.
Enabling Seamless and Secure Identity Intelligence
Krishna Srinivasan: Let’s fast forward to 2030. In a perfect world, what’s your aspirational vision for Forter?
Michael Reitblat: When we started Forter, we thought $200 billion in e-commerce transactions sounded like an insane number. Now, we’ve passed $8 trillion and it’s just the beginning.
Looking ahead, I believe the online experience—for me, for my mom, for my kids—is going to be dramatically better. Identity intelligence and authentication will be far more seamless and secure. We’ll reduce crime, yes—but just as importantly, we’ll make it easier for good people to be recognized and trusted.
I try to put on my consumer hat often. And then I put on my mom’s consumer hat—because not everyone is as tech-savvy as I am. Honestly, the digital experience today is still frustrating. You must authenticate yourself 20 times a day across different platforms. It doesn’t make sense.
I want Forter to be a key player in fixing that. Every transaction should be smoother. Everything should be connected. We’ve talked about the importance of partners and now we’re calling on the ecosystem to step up with us. We’ve built a lot, and the ecosystem has come a long way, but there’s still so much more to do.
Will we be a public company in the future? Probably. I also imagine our customer conference—IMPACT in New York—will go global, bringing together even more incredible storytellers and technology innovators.
The future is uncertain, but it’s exciting. And I know Forter will be at the heart of making the digital world more trusted, connected, and human.
Michael Reitblat
CEO and Co-founder at Forter
Michael is the co-founder and CEO at Forter, a leading provider in e-commerce fraud prevention. With the mission to make fraud-free e-commerce more accessible, Michael was trained in cybersecurity and fraud prevention in the Israeli military.
He also helped build Fraud Sciences, a pioneer in online payment fraud prevention, later acquired by PayPal.
A management consultant with more than 20 years of experience in his field, Krishna serves as the Global Managing Partner at Frost & Sullivan. Commanding an impressive professional history, Krishna laid the educational foundations of his career at Bangalore University in India, majoring in mechanical engineering. He then went on to secure a role with Data Patterns, Inc, working on various aspects of software development and product marketing. Seeking further professional development, Krishna joined Frost & Sullivan in the late 1980s as a Senior Industry Analyst. As a result of his consistent performance, he earned promotion to Head of Worldwide Research, Industrial Technologies. Appointed Global President of Frost & Sullivan in 2000, his tenure with the company has been defined by steady growth and diversification of the firm’s products and services.
Krishna Srinivasan
Global Managing Partner at Frost & Sullivan
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Appendix
To know more about lucrative growth opportunities, emerging megatrends, companies to action, and best practices in cybersecurity, view Frost & Sullivan’s detailed portfolio of analysis on the subject: