Atlanta-based Trust Stamp continued its global expansion with the purchase of a U.K.-based company that helps users log into their accounts by selecting predetermined points on an image.
PixelPin’s solution can replace traditional alphanumeric pins or passwords for logging into secure environments online.
It’s a logical buy for Trust Stamp, which uses biometrics and artificial intelligence to help banks, payment processors, email service providers, governments and other entities authenticate identity.
The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Trust Stamp — which went public via direct listing on the Euronext Growth exchange in Dublin last year — completed the purchase through a Malta-based entity set up with government support from the island nation in 2020.
Last April, Trust Stamp hired as advisers two former members of Government Communications Headquarters, or GCHQ, the British government’s cybersecurity and intelligence agency. Executives met former PixelPin CEO Miles Clee through mutual participation in the U.K. National Cyber Security Centre’s accelerator program, which is affiliated with the GCHQ. Mr. Clee now joins Trust Stamp as vice president of commercial initiatives.
“PixelPin expands on Trust Stamp’s core value to provide secure access to a digital identity; PixelPin’s ease of use facilitates secure authentication to individuals that are encumbered by traditional usernames and passwords,” said Kinny Chan, chief commercial officer at Trust Stamp.
Trust Stamp has been active throughout the pandemic. Its technology converts biometric data into a “hash” of letter and numbers that cannot be replicated or reverse engineered — leading to use cases as diverse as payment authentication to human trafficking prevention.
In March, the company launched a $5 million funding rounding listed on the OTCQX Best Market, a U.S.-based market that serves companies already approved to list on an international exchange.
The company now employs 60 people — the majority of them outside the U.S. — and counts Mastercard, Synchrony and FIS as customers. PixelPin had raised £4.5 million from investors including Japan’s SoftBank.
Atlanta and London have grown increasingly connected on the financial technology and payments fronts in recent years through the annual P20 payments summit, which has placed a heavy emphasis on cybersecurity during meetings alternating between the two cities.
The conference was held virtually in September for the first time, centered around the theme of how to make payments secure for all. Speakers included former U.S. Treasury Security Steve Mnuchin and Rishi Sunak, U.K. chancellor of the exchequer.
Learn more about the deal through this report in Atlanta-based innovation and technology publication Hypepotamus, which features and interview with co-founder Andrew Gowasack.
