Paravision

Paravision (rebranded from Ever AI in August 2019) offers a software toolset based on computer vision and machine learning specializing in facial recognition technology. The tools are available via SDKs and APIs that can carry out facial detection and verification, facial recognition from real-time streaming videos, face clustering, gender identification, and emotion detection. Paravision’s solutions can be used in video security, access control, identity programs (such as travel and identity documents, automated border control, national IDs, voter registration, and ID verification in entitlement programs), and payment gateways. The company ranked as the most accurate facial recognition algorithm in the January 2022 1:N facial recognition vendor test (FRVT) conducted by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), recording a reduction in its error rate by more than 95% over 2018–2022. The error rate was recorded at 0.22% for false-negative identification and 0.3% for false positives. In October 2022, Paravision introduced an image search engine with an enterprise-grade search function and improved biometric liveness detection capabilities. Paravision also introduced Paravision Search (March 2023), a facial recognition platform targeting enterprise use cases that is capable of handling hundreds of millions of records with a face-matching capability of more than one million matches per second per core. 

Paravision is a spin-off from Ever (a photo storage app), which was incorporated to focus solely on facial recognition products. In August 2020, Ever announced the closing down of its services, and, along with it, Paravision will stop using Ever photos to train its face recognition models. 

In August 2023 , Paravision launched its sixth-generation facial recognition product suite, which claims to achieve a 30% reduction in error rates when compared to its predecessor, Paravision Gen 5, across various demographic categories. It is also  compatible with various partner solutions. 

Key customers and partnerships

In November 2019, the company entered a partnership with Booz Allen (information technology consulting firm) to make available its facial recognition products in Booz Allen’s Modzy AI enterprise platform, which markets AI software. Booz Allen claims many US government agencies are among its clients, which could open up new opportunities for Paravision. The company’s initial focus was on the US market; however, it is seeing some interest from customers and partners from countries such as India, Brazil, and Japan. The company has also been active across Europe, offering identity verification, access control, payments and border management solutions for the public and private sectors. In November 2021, the company appointed a UK-based sales and business development executive with the aim of expanding presence further.

In November 2023, Paravision partnered with Persona , an integrated identity platform, to unveil an ethical AI-powered age estimation and verification tool. The solution prioritizes diverse data and bias detection, ensuring age verification and user privacy through Persona's flexible verification processes and Paravision's selfie-based age estimation. In March 2024, Paravision partnered with IdentityE2E, a  firm specializing in public sector projects, to offer a managed service for government and enterprise.

Funding and financials

In May 2021, the company raised USD 23 million in funding led by J2 Ventures, with participation from HID Global, Marlinspike Capital, Atomic, Icon Ventures, and other investors, bringing the company’s total funding to USD 52 million. The funds were to be used to expand its technology, accelerate product development, and enhance support for global deployments. In June 2022, Paravision received funding from an intelligence alliance, Five Eyes’ undisclosed government partner, to develop technology to detect deepfake videos. In September, the company received more funds through an extension to the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II contract with the US Air Force.