Incode raises $10 million to verify identities with AI

Incode, a San Francisco startup developing what it describes as an omnichannel biometric identity platform, today announced that it has raised $10 million in seed funding from undisclosed investors. Founder and CEO Ricardo Amper said the newfound capital will enable Incode to accelerate the development and global rollout of its tools, some of which are already being used by major banks, financial institutions, governments, and retailers.

“The modern consumer is all about experiences and convenience,” said Amper. “What they want is a seamless, consistent, and secure way to perform daily tasks — like access[ing] their ATM, mak[ing] payments, and access[ing] online accounts. Yet, what they get today is quite the opposite. The ecosystem is fragmented by multiple vendors and devices, making processes clunky and inefficient. That’s precisely why we’ve built Incode Omni: to help companies provide a frictionless, secure, and convenient experience for the next generation of consumers.”

Incode three years ago launched a mobile app that automatically recognized and shared photos with everyone in them, which contributed to a data set of tagged people from around the world. The corpora was repurposed to train AI models in a product suite — Omni — that Incode claims is “world-class” in terms of accuracy and low false-positive rates.

Omni comprises a set of software development kits compatible with a range of cloud-based and on-premises environments, and with web browsers and operating systems, including iOS and Android. The kits incorporate LiveBeam, a proprietary passive liveness check that leverages machine learning, light-modeling, and over 100 computational photography adjustments, in addition to fraud and tamper checks designed to detect potential threats.

Omni provides a number of prebuilt solutions intended to integrate with existing systems. Incode Welcome onboards users from the web or mobile, while Incode Hello allows them to log in with their face. Incode Check lets customers verify purchases using facial recognition, while another offering — Incode Facepay — enables people to make payments and send money to friends, as well as enrolling in and using loyalty programs.

“Our mission behind Incode Omni is to set global standards of digital identity,” said Amper, who cited a recent report from McKinsey & Company that found over half of the 6.6 billion people with some form of identification fail to use it securely and efficiently. “Convenience is a major piece of the puzzle, security is another … We’re starting with financial services, hospitality, and marketplaces, but this is just the beginning.”

Other companies competing for dominance in the nearly $22.68 billion identity verification segment include San Francisco-based Checkr, which raised $100 million in April 2018. Microsoft recently led a $10 million funding round in Trusona, a startup that aims to verify that internet users are who they say they are. Socure and OneLogin earlier this year raised $30 million and $100 million, respectively. And Onfido, whose tools tap AI to perform background checks on would-be employees at each stage of the hiring and recruitment process, raised $50 million in April.

Incode has offices in Europe and Latin America, in addition to its office in San Francisco.