Unico Acquires OwnID to Enhance Passkey Authentication Offerings

Unico has acquired OwnID, a startup specializing in passwordless authentication, led by a former president of Gigya. This move aims to provide a smoother alternative to facial recognition for lower-risk transactions.

The company, based in São Paulo, Brazil, stated that OwnID’s passkey solutions align well with Unico’s biometric offerings. Marcelo Zanelatto, Unico’s Head of Mergers and Acquisitions, emphasized that the passkey system is particularly useful for transactions where traditional facial recognition might be perceived as intrusive. His team envisions integrating these technologies to uphold rigorous security standards while enhancing user convenience.

Unico has made significant strides in establishing its presence in the U.S. market, signing notable clients such as Nestle, Michael Kors, and the NFL. Zanelatto remarked that this acquisition provides an advantageous foothold for Unico to market its identity solutions.

Founded in 2021, OwnID has a small team but raised $6.2 million in seed funding in 2022, attracting interest due to its co-founder Rooly Eliezerov’s prior success with Gigya, acquired by SAP for $350 million. The acquisition is expected to accelerate technical integrations that were already in progress due to a pre-existing commercial partnership.

Synergy Between Passkeys and Facial Recognition

Zanelatto articulated the benefits of combining biometric facial recognition with passkey technology, noting that while facial recognition offers high security, it may not be suitable for low-risk scenarios where speed and efficiency are prioritized. He highlighted that OwnID’s passkey system serves as an effective alternative in contexts like e-commerce logins and minor transactions.

Facial recognition often requires meticulous positioning and liveness detection, which can introduce delays. Passkeys, in contrast, provide a user-friendly, quicker authentication method. Zanelatto claims that the passkey approach is three times faster than facial recognition, eliminating some steps involved in the latter process.

The integration of biometric data with passkeys ensures a streamlined verification process. Unico matches a user’s facial recognition with their national identity number, establishing trust before binding it to a passkey for future transactions. This dual-layered verification maintains high standards of identity assurance.

Streamlined Authentication for Diverse Services

Unico’s biometric identity system, already established in Brazil and Mexico, allows users to authenticate across multiple platforms using a verified identity. However, U.S. companies may be more hesitant regarding centralized biometric databases, even with consent. Building trust around privacy and data usage remains a crucial challenge.

Zanelatto indicated that Unico aims to become the custodian of biometric data with user consent but recognizes the difficulty in persuading U.S. entities to adopt this model. As the integration between Unico and OwnID develops over the next couple of months, new products that synergize both companies’ technologies are anticipated.

Given the competitive landscape in the U.S. cybersecurity market, acquiring OwnID allows Unico to bypass some of the inherent challenges of entrerprising from scratch. Zanelatto expressed confidence in leveraging OwnID’s established client base to broaden Unico’s identity solutions offerings.

“While we excel in Latin America, our sights are set on global expansion,” he stated, acknowledging both the competition and the synergistic advantages that come from acquisitions in penetrating new markets.