Biometrics investment continues as global market forecast to surpass $84B by 2026

Ondato has extended its seed funding round by €3.6 million (approximately US$4.2 million) in the latest biometrics investment announcement, just as the global biometrics market has been forecast to surpass $84 billion within five years in the latest market report.

The extension brings Ondato’s seed funding round to a total of €5.6 million, building on a previous announcement from the beginning of 2021 which pegged the initial investment at $2 million (€1.7 million), and stated plans to expand the company’s selfie biometric authentication across Europe.

The extension round was led by OTB Ventures, LitCapital and Startup Wise Guys, and experiences institutional investors from LitCapital will provide strategic support as Ondato attempts to scale.

The funds will be used to expand Ondato’s team to support market expansion, further biometric compliance-as-a-service product development and operations.

“We have grown 4X in the last 10 months and substantially expanded our team size and range of services,” says Liudas Kanapienis, co-founder and CEO of Ondato. “The data shows us that there is a need to both deepen and widen the use of KYC services. The additional funds will help us sustain a pace of growth that has beaten our expectations. We are also excited to welcome LitCapital on board to enter our next expansion stage. With their backing as experienced institutional investors, we are well positioned for continued growth and a strong Series A in 2022.”

“Ondato has identified a unique opportunity in a booming market and successfully built and marketed a product that goes beyond what any other KYC provider has – a truly comprehensive compliance management software making use of the latest technology,” comments Šarūnas Šiugžda, founder and managing partner at LitCapital, who is also joining Ondato as a Board Member. “We are impressed with what Liudas and his team achieved during such a short period of time, and we are extremely happy to be able to work alongside them.”

Ondato biometric onboarding customer Luminor Bank recently extended its use of the company’s technology to business account openings.

Tech5 closes Totm investment deal

Totm Technologies has completed a total strategic investment of $10.5 million in Tech5 as both companies intend to accelerate growth of their digital identity management businesses.

According to a joint press release, the investment means Totm, which recently rebranded from Yinda Infocomm, will exercise exclusive licensing rights for Tech5 products in new Asia Pacific Markets, including Cambodia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Totm, the release explained, concluded the deal by completing the US$8.0 million investment by way of subscription of new shares in the capital of Tech5 as well as exercising its rights to convert the US$2.5 million convertible loan, which it announced in January, into new shares in Tech5.

With the investment completed, Totm’s CEO and Executive Director Pierre Prunier has been appointed as a director on the board of Tech5.

The investment comes at a time when Tech5 has registered major achievements especially in the first half of this year, through the signing of digital onboarding and foundational ID contracts in Africa, Asia and Latin America, the release notes.

Commenting after the investment and his appointment to the Tech5 board, Prunier said: “We believe that by harnessing the synergies between Totm Technologies and TECH5, our well-established brands, greater geographic diversification and access to a larger global user base will put us on a faster growth trajectory.”

Global biometrics market forecast to hit $84B by 2026

The investment news reflects the optimistic outlook for biometric technology adoption.

Three major factors, namely growing awareness of the technology, security worries over user identity verification processes, and the increase in the Internet of Things (IoT), are expected to push global biometrics market revenues to $84.27 billion by 2026.

This is according to a study by research-based global management consulting firm TechSci Research which also notes that the market growth within the period under review will go at a CAGR of 16.73 percent, further fueled by technological advancement across the healthcare sector and improved user authentication systems in the financial services and payments industry.

The report examined biometrics solutions type, functionality type, end use industry, and region. For end user industry, government and defense sectors are projected to dominate the market over the next five years, given the growing security challenges faced by countries across the globe.

The Study also lists some biometrics companies expected to make significant contributions to the market growth and they include NEC Corporation, Thales Group, BIO-Key International, Assa Abloy, Idemia, Dermalog, Cognitec, Fujitsu Limited, IDEX Biometrics, Next Biometrics, SecuGen, Aware, Precise Biometrics, and Fingerprint Cards.

“Approximately 80 percent of all smartphones sold today have some form of biometric sensor which is used to unlock devices, make payments and gain access to apps. Asia-Pacific has the highest share with 28.39 percent in 2020 due to widespread adoption of biometric identification systems across various industries,” said Karan Chechi, research director with TechSci Research.

“Countries like India, China, and South Korea plan to enhance child security measures by collecting biometric samples, majorly the fingerprint and iris samples of the children. National security concerns also play an important role in boosting the growth of the industry. The region is expected to dominate the market in the forecasted period as well. North America is estimated to be the fastest growing region with a CAGR of 17.76 percent in the upcoming future,” he added.

In August, another report by syndicated research and consulting firm Emergen Research projected global biometrics industry revenues will near $100 billion by 2027, principally thanks to the significant penetration of smartphones, the integration of biometric security technologies with internet of things (IoT), as well as the increasing introduction of digital passports which include biometrics.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  digital identity  |  funding  |  investment  |  market report  |  Ondato  |  TECH5  |  Totm Technologies