Did Onfido foresee the current economic straits? Biometrics unicorn credentials considered

Common wisdom dictates that growth companies facing economic threats regear for profit rather than grow through acquisitions.

The strategy is to beef up the balance sheets, and it appears that biometric ID verification company Onfido is on that path. Here is some evidence.

The London-based company is claiming triple-digit growth regionally in Europe, including 250 percent year over year revenue growth in Germany.

Most-recent annual revenue growth in the Netherlands was 175 percent, according to the company. It even pulled out 130 percent year over year growth in Central Europe.

Onfido has not been coasting on development. In May, it announced new products for its Real Identity Platform, a biometrics and AI-powered ID verification and authentication service.

And Onfido has a lengthening list of new clients.

Executives say they are working with Bank Millennium Poland, which is leaning into digital services, to automate verification for new customers. The prospects can take a selfie as part of biometric onboarding.

Other recent new-customer wins include Swissborg, a Swiss crypto asset management firm; Austrian Bitcoin broker Coinfinity; Felyx, a Dutch electric scooter maker; Gaiyo, a mobility-as-a-service startup; and Free Now, a mobility provider.

It has also partnered with WebID, a European verification software firm making its Global Trust Technology platform. WebID focuses on the German, Austrian and Swiss markets. Onfido will incorporate WebID’s live video ID verification on Onfido’s API.

(One wrinkle in this theory is that in April, the company promoted one of its own to lead it through an initial public offering. The IPO pipeline has been drained until further notice.}

There are fans of Onfido’s growth path.

GP Bullhound, an advisory and investment firm focused on technology firms, has ranked the company fifth among all other European tech businesses in terms of likelihood to become a billion-dollar firm before 2025.

That judgment was published in a June 2022 report that documents the cresting of Europe’s unicorn boom.

There are caveats and curiosities about predicting the company’s direction.

Although a global recession is predicted by a growing number of observers and players, and stock markets worldwide are cascading, nervous economies are stable for the moment. No recession, no need to circle the wagons.

Also, the apparent focus on profit over growth began even before gasoline prices began shocking already-tentative consumers. The current business strategy might be a coincidence.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  digital identity  |  financial results  |  identity verification  |  Onfido  |  selfie biometrics