Hancom, under the leadership of CEO Seong-jun Byun and Yeon-soo Kim, has unveiled plans for a significant investment in FacePhi, a pioneering Spanish AI biometrics company. The investment agreement was sealed in the vibrant city of Barcelona, Spain, with both Hancom’s CEO Yeon-soo Kim and FacePhi’s CEO Javier Mira in attendance.
This strategic move will see Hancom acquiring equity in FacePhi, while also securing exclusive business rights to distribute FacePhi’s cutting-edge solutions throughout the Asia Pacific (APAC) region.
FacePhi, with its presence on both the Spanish and French stock exchanges, stands out for its range of AI-powered biometric technologies, including facial, fingerprint, iris, and voice recognition. Operating primarily across Europe and Latin America, the company has gained recognition both domestically and internationally, with a notable client base in the Korean financial sector.
A standout feature of FacePhi’s technology is its anti-spoofing functionality, particularly in facial recognition. Unlike conventional methods that require facial movement for authentication, FacePhi utilizes a passive approach, ensuring identity verification with a single frontal facial image. This approach has earned FacePhi the prestigious i-Beta Level 2 certification from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in 2022, a certification held by only a select few companies worldwide.
Hancom’s investment positions it as a major shareholder in FacePhi, marking a significant step towards strengthening its foothold in the global AI market. Leveraging this partnership, Hancom aims to promote FacePhi’s solutions under its own brand in the APAC region, offering customers innovative biometric authentication solutions.
“Through this investment, we will be able to expand Hancom’s AI business area and we expect to expand overseas sales by supplying Hancom-branded FacePhi solutions to the entire Asia-Pacific region in the future,” expressed Yeon-soo Kim, CEO of Hancom. “We will continue to lead the AI market by actively promoting collaboration with, investment in, and acquisition of competent AI businesses,” she added.
The need for robust authentication solutions is becoming increasingly apparent as the digital landscape expands. Facial recognition technology is emerging as a frontrunner in addressing these demands. However, with the escalating threat of deepfakes and other security concerns, there is a notable shift towards adopting more passive authentication methods. Investments like Hancom’s in FacePhi are pivotal in driving this evolution, underscoring the importance of advancements in biometric security measures.