Checkin.com acquires GetID for $9.5M to add face biometrics, image recognition

GetID has been acquired by Checkin.com Group, which provides online check-in services, as the first step in the Group’s strategy to build out its software-as-a-service portfolio with the Estonian company’s ID document and selfie biometric authentication.

The deal valuates GetID at an estimated SEK 82 million (approximately US$9.5 million) in newly issued shares in Checkin.com Group, plus a smaller cash payment, according to the announcement. It consists of €8.1 million ($9.4 million), composed of €5.5 million ($6.4 million) in shares and €2.6 million ($3 million) in cash and equivalents.

GetID Founder and CEO Dmitri Laush will continue with the organization, having taken only shares as compensation for his ownership stake. Key GetID personnel and shareholders will own approximately 3.2 percent of Checkin.com Group.

Checkin.com previously announced an acquisition strategy to identify strong teams and technologies in “hyper-specialized” areas, and the announcement notes the speed, lack of friction, and GDPR compliance of GetID’s artificial intelligence-driven document verification and face biometrics. The companies expect to realize synergies and economies of scale from the merger.

“GetID is a rapidly growing tech company with a fantastic team that in a relatively short time frame has built innovative and leading software based on AI for image recognition applied within face matching and reading of physical documents,” comments Kristoffer Cassel, CEO and co-founder of Checkin.com Group. “I believe that their technology product-wise is far ahead of their competitors and we are thrilled that such a prominent team wants to be part of Checkin.com Group going forward. This acquisition is long-term a very important part of our puzzle, and we look into many other technology areas for suitable acquisition candidates. It is through the technical advantage Checkin.com Group will continue to deliver value to our customers and shareholders.”

“We strongly believe in the synergies this deal creates and we look forward to continuing our journey under the Checkin.com Group umbrella,” states Laush. “Foremost we share their overall vision and believe that we, when working together, have a very good shot at radically changing how users checkin to products and services. This feels like a perfect match, which is also why I chose to transfer 100 percent of my ownership in GetID to a long-term ownership in Checkin.com Group.”

GetID currently has annualized revenue from its biometric identity verification, KYC and AML checks of close to SEK 5 million ($580,000), most of which is secured with contracts exceeding 12 months in length. The company also recently launched a workflow-building tool to help customers build biometrics and other checks into their KYC processes.

The transaction is expected to be completed this month.

Article Topics

acquisitions  |  biometrics  |  Checkin.com  |  digital identity  |  GetID  |  identity verification  |  onboarding