Hopae expands European operations to support EU digital identity transition

South Korean digital identity infrastructure company Hopae has announced a “strategic” expansion into the EU, earmarking €5M (US$5.7 million) to strengthen its presence on the continent as the deadline for introducing the mandatory European Digital Identity (EUDI) Wallet approaches.

Hopae’s main pitch for the European market is building an intermediary platform that can help unify different electronic identity (eID) and digital ID wallet schemes.

EU countries are obliged to offer EUDI Wallets in 2026, while regulated businesses and Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs) must accept them by 2027. This regulatory pressure is likely to result in a large number of eIDs that businesses would need to integrate separately. Hopae wants to help companies complement traditional KYC methods with multiple eIDs and EUDI wallet-based verification.

In September, the firm signed a partnership with Luxembourg’s public trust infrastructure agency, INCERT GIE, allowing its Hopae Connect to become the first officially registered intermediary service in the EU. Earlier this month, the platform received OpenID Connect (OIDC) certification.

The company has already named its general manager for the European market and opened a new office in Luxembourg. Bertrand Bouteloup, former Chief Commercial Officer at IDnow and Global Head of Cybersecurity at Capgemini, will be leading the company’s efforts to obtain the status of Qualified Trust Service Provider (QTSP).

“The combination of both eIDs and wallet verification capabilities is quite unique on the market and will also provide answers to the forthcoming AML-R requirements,” says Bouteloup, who is also the company’s global Chief Revenue Officer.

Hopae says that its integration already covers more than 50 eIDs and wallets and plans to increase this figure to 100 by the second quarter of 2026.

“Our investment in Europe is only the beginning, as we anticipate multiple additional investment rounds to meet the growing demand for secure, wallet-based digital identity,” says Ace Jaehoon Shim, Hopae CEO and founder.

Founded in 2022, Hopae made its name building the South Korean national vaccination pass (COOV). Last year, it secured $6.5 million in funding and introduced its technology to the U.S.

The firm is currently helping develop the Korean Architecture Reference Framework (K-ARF), the country’s first open-source digital identity framework designed for interoperability across borders. Aside from Luxembourg, Hopae has offices in Seoul, San Francisco and Paris.

Article Topics

digital ID  |  digital ID infrastructure  |  digital wallets  |  e-ID  |  EU Digital Identity Wallet  |  Europe  |  Hopae  |  investment