Scout Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm making the world a better, safer place by investing in frontier and dual-use technologies built by veterans, intelligence leaders, and premier research labs. By leveraging our network of professional investors, operators, and experienced entrepreneurs, Scout can effectively execute every aspect of our investment thesis.

Scout Ventures

Boomtown supports great people in building great companies. Boomtown's bespoke accelerator programs help startups turn ideas into profitable, scalable businesses. From health tech and connectivity to hardware and IoT, Boomtown builds custom programs for each company’s needs. Founders receive $20K in seed funding, $1.7MM+ in discounts and perks, customized curriculum, strategic support from partners and staff, office space and amenities, access to expert mentors, connections to accelerator alumni, Demo Day, and exposure to potential corporate customers and funding.

Boomtown Accelerators

500 Global is a multi-stage venture capital firm with $2.4 billion in assets under management. The firm invests in founders who are building fast-growing technology companies. It focuses on markets where technology, innovation, and capital can generate long-term value and economic growth. 500 Global collaborates with key stakeholders and provides advisory services to governments on fostering entrepreneurial ecosystems to support startups. The firm has invested in over 5,000 founders and more than 2,800 companies across 80+ countries. It has funded over 35 companies valued at more than $1 billion and over 160 companies valued at over $100 million, including those that are private, public, or have exited. The team consists of over 190 members based in more than 25 countries, with experience as entrepreneurs, investors, and operators from leading technology companies.

500 Global

Lavrock Ventures is a venture capital firm specializing in early-stage (Series A) investments. It seeks to invest in cybersecurity and enterprise software companies. The firm often invests in commercial-focused technologies with potential relevance in National Security

Lavrock Ventures

Advantage Ventures is an early-stage venture capital fund.

Advantage Ventures

GW Ventures focuses on investments in early-stage startups. Their portfolio spans diverse areas of leading edge technology with big industry impact.  They cover IoT, Robotics, Mobility Tech, Wearables, Healthcare, Security, RetailTech, FinTech, Entertainment and AR/VR.

GW Ventures

Trueface

Trueface is a face recognition company that applies advanced computer vision technology to camera footage and images to enable businesses to make immediate decisions based on identified patterns. We believe that through the responsible use of computer vision technology, we can live in a smarter and safer world. Our partners are industry leaders in retail, Fintech, security and hospitality.

<div><p>Trueface provides facial recognition-based solutions for surveillance, customer analytics, access control, and payment gateways for retail, healthcare, and hospitality, among other sectors. It also provides solutions for government agencies. In November 2019, Trueface was awarded its second contract from the US Air Force to use facial recognition technology to secure base access and safety. Its offerings include APIs and SDKs, both cloud-based and on-premises. The company also has a readily available security surveillance product called Trueface Aware that can be embedded into existing IP camera infrastructure (the product comes with optional customizable hardware).</p></div>

Facial recognition delivers incredible convenience to consumers, as well as serious risks.

Facial Recognition

AEI-Backed Pangiam Acquires Trueface

<div>
  <p>
    Trueface provides facial recognition-based solutions for surveillance, customer analytics, access control, and payment gateways for retail, healthcare, and hospitality, among other sectors. It also provides solutions for government agencies. In November 2019, Trueface was awarded its second contract from the US Air Force to use facial recognition technology to secure base access and safety. Its offerings include APIs and SDKs, both cloud-based and on-premises. The company also has a readily available security surveillance product called Trueface Aware that can be embedded into existing IP camera infrastructure (the product comes with optional customizable hardware).
  </p>
  <p>
    The company raised USD 3.7 million in July 2019, intending to scale up to grow partnerships and market share. In October 2019, the company also entered a partnership with Bluestone Technologies (a blockchain network provider) to launch a missing persons database. Furthermore, in June 2020, the company partnered with iryx to develop technology to identify masked subjects in response to the requirement to wear face masks due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
  </p>
  <p>
    The company was acquired by technology-based security and travel services provider Pangium in June 2021 to integrate Trueface technologies into its portfolio.
  </p>
</div>


<div>
  <p>
    Founded in Spain, FacePhi offers a wide range of facial recognition identity authentication solutions for transaction approval and digital onboarding. FacePhi&rsquo;s Selphi software allows the user to conduct ID authentication by using a selfie. The selfie is encrypted and sent to the bank&rsquo;s database to be used in payee authentication. The encryptions ensure the user's privacy as the full image is not sent to the bank. The company&rsquo;s revenue increased by around 143% during the first half of 2020 (compared to the same period in 2019) on account of agreements with 10 new clients, compared to 13 new customers during 2019 (full year), indicating the growth potential of the company.
  </p>
  <p>
    In May 2021, FacePhi partnered with Revelock, a Spanish fraud detection company, to provide comprehensive identity verification and fraud prevention solutions for financial institutions. In February 2022, the company partnered with software company Oracle Cloud Marketplace, for the latter to work as a distributor for FacePhi's digital onboarding and facial recognition solutions. In November 2021, the company also partnered with airport operator Aena to offer identity verification for passengers and employees at a price of USD 1.7 million for four years. With the aim of expanding presence in the LATAM region, FacePhi established a regional office in Uruguay in March 2022, followed by an agreement with 
    <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates?industryIds=16">
      Hites,
    </a>
     a Chilean department store, to use remote selfie onboarding technology to let Hites&rsquo; customers apply for credit cards online. In May 2022, FacePhi opened another
    <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/10796?industryIds=16">
       office in the UK
    </a>
     to serve Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) regions.
  </p>
  <p>
    <b>Funding and financials</b>
  </p>
  <p>
    During the fiscal year 2022, FacePhi recorded net revenues of EUR 2.2 million ( ~USD 2.3 million), growing 69% YoY, and an adjusted EBITDA of EUR 4.3 million ( ~USD 4.6 million), unchanged from the previous year.
  </p>
  <p>
  </p>
</div>


FacePhi

<p><span>Headquartered in the Netherlands, Sightcorp is an AI spin-off from the University of Amsterdam that develops patented proprietary AI Software solutions for mobile apps, including face detection (detect multiple faces in an image), emotion analysis, crowd demographics, and attention analytics. The main target markets of the company include retail, advertising, hospitality, and digital signage.</span></p><p><span>In January 2022, Sightcorp was </span><a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/7828?industryIds=16"><span>acquired by Raydiant </span></a><span>, a provider of an in-location experience management platform, to jointly develop solutions for personalized on-screen, in-location experiences targeting retailers, restaurants, etc. Sightcorp expects to open offices in Lithuania and London in 2022 and to grow its European team from 20 to 100. Raydiant is also hiring across the US and internationally to accompany Sightcorp’s new offices.</span></p>

Sightcorp

<div>
  <p>
    Okaya offers a mobile app that aims to understand users&rsquo; wellbeing by using a combination of facial recognition technology, biometrics analysis (such as heart rate, weight, etc.), and machine learning. Okaya&rsquo;s facial recognition algorithm, developed in-house, analyses facial features obtained from a 15-second video recording where up to 30 frames are captured in a second. This data is evaluated along with other biometrics to determine a person&rsquo;s level of fatigue. The product claims to help create strong work teams and a robust work environment allowing the identification of areas where improvement is required.
  </p>
</div>


Okaya

<div>
  <p>
    Facetec offers a 3D face authentication software called ZoOm capable of high-performance liveness detection (verification of whether facial features captured are from a living subject). The software can work on smart mobile devices and webcams. The company also has patented technology to generate a 3D face map using a video selfie recorded even with a 2D camera. In September 2019, Facetec improved its product by embedding an age-estimation tool. Even though selfie-based authentication has become commonplace, many of them uses 2D facial mapping which makes it are vulnerable to spoofing attacks (trying to obtain access illegitimately by reproducing a person's face using images, masks, mannequins etc.) due to use of 2D mapping of facial features. FaceTec's technology is superior to others as it allows to create a 3D map of the face even with a normal 2D camera. While most other 3D face mapping requires designated hardware components, FaceTec's technology eliminates this requirement. Hence, it does not require app developers to rely on device manufacturers to incorporate additional hardware to use ZoOm. The company claims its product is one of the few companies to be certified in level 1 and 2 in iBeta Presentation Attack Detection (PAD) testing directed by an ISO standard. The software can detect digital and physical 'spoof artifacts' such as high-resolution photos and videos, masks and mannequins. FaceTec has over 100 customers across various verticals with an installed base of over 10 billion smart devices. ZoOm targets a wide range of markets ranging from banking, e-commerce, healthcare, insurance, e-voting, attendance, and government. Majority of FaceTec's customers are currently government and financial institutions.
  </p>
</div>


FaceTec, Inc.

<div>
  <p>
    FaceFirst offers facial recognition solutions mainly for access control as well as for identity authentication and real-time security. It focuses on retailers, airports, casinos, banks, as well as music and gaming events. The company also offers a mobile app (for iOS and Android) for facial recognition on the go. FaceFirst&rsquo;s facial recognition tool is mainly aimed at the retail segment, which accounts for around 50% of its business. FaceFirst&rsquo;s patented retail security platform can identify any known shoplifters or forbidden employees attempting to enter the store. Its products can be integrated with existing retail systems. 
  </p>
  <p>
    The company also introduced Mask-ID in November 2018, which instantly blurs identified faces without compromising accuracy. Additionally, the retail security platform allows its users to access the company&rsquo;s database of retail criminals, enabling them to include any individuals banned by the company itself. FaceFirst is one of the companies to work with lawmakers to help regulate the industry.
  </p>
</div>


FaceFirst

Companies that are developing facial recognition technology to suggest tags for photos uploaded on the platform, typically social media.

Companies that provide facial recognition technology for contactless and fast-payment gateways.

Companies providing tools to identify VIP customers and repeat customers by using facial recognition.

Companies that provide technology to monitor physical access to offices, retail stores, and residences as well as access to electronic devices, such as mobile phones and laptops, using facial recognition.

Companies providing facial recognition technology to identify people from live and recorded videos.

Companies that provide facial recognition technology to police and government agencies to identify criminals, protestors, unauthorized overstayers in the country, and departing passengers.

Facial recognition is a type of biometrics used to verify individuals

Used in smart city applications for access control

Facial recognition technology is built on ML models for training data

Trueface

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