Keyless
Keyless is a London-based biometric authentication company whose Zero-Knowledge Biometrics™ technology enables privacy-preserving, device-independent face authentication for banks, financial institutions, and enterprises, now operating as PingOne Recognize within Ping Identity.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Keyless does
Keyless Technologies Ltd., founded in London in 2019, developed privacy-preserving biometric authentication software centered on its proprietary Zero-Knowledge Biometrics™ technology. The technology transforms facial biometric data into cryptographic representations that are never stored in retrievable or reconstructable form, combining the device-portability of cloud biometrics with the privacy posture of local on-device biometrics. The platform supports authentication across the full user journey — login, payments, step-up authentication, account recovery, and device binding — with re-verification in under 300 milliseconds on any device with a front-facing camera. Built-in liveness detection, injection attack prevention, and behavioral signals target AI-driven threats including deepfakes and identity spoofing.
Keyless was primarily focused on banking and financial services institutions, with secondary exposure to broader enterprise identity security, workforce authentication, and B2B identity verification use cases. It generated revenue through annual subscription enterprise licensing with quote-based pricing, deployed via multi-tenant SaaS, dedicated-tenant SaaS, or self-managed software models. Go-to-market combined direct enterprise field sales with event marketing (including a FinovateEurope Best of Show award in 2025) and PR in technology and biometric industry publications.
Keyless spun out from Sift in November 2023, raising a cumulative $26 million led by Rialto Ventures and including Experian Ventures. In July 2025 it formed a strategic partnership with IDnow, and in October 2025 Ping Identity (backed by Thoma Bravo) announced its acquisition of Keyless for integration into Ping's identity security platform; the deal completed January 8, 2026 and the technology is now sold as PingOne Recognize.
Keyless firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Keyless
- Legal name
- Keyless Technologies
- Website
- https://keyless.io
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Acquired
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Keyless is a London-based biometric authentication company whose Zero-Knowledge Biometrics™ technology enables privacy-preserving, device-independent face authentication for banks, financial institutions, and enterprises, now operating as PingOne Recognize within Ping Identity.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Keyless industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Biometric Authentication Software
- NAICS
- Security Systems Services (except Locksmiths) (561621)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Authentication (MFA/Passwordless/Biometrics) Platforms (BPAMAEAE)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) & Passwordless Authentication (HDAEAJAC)
Keywords
Where Keyless is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Keyless business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Biometric Authentication SaaS: Subscription-based biometric authentication services delivered via cloud platform, enabling enterprises to authenticate customers and employees with privacy-preserving biometrics. Supports multiple use cases including login, payments, step-up authentication, account recovery, and device binding.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Enterprise Subscription - Custom pricing based on deployment scale and use cases |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels3 records
Keyless product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Keyless provides privacy-preserving biometric authentication software that uses Zero-Knowledge Biometrics™ to verify and re-verify users via facial recognition without storing retrievable biometric data. The platform authenticates users in under 300 milliseconds across any device with a front-facing camera and is offered as multi-tenant SaaS, dedicated-tenant SaaS, or self-managed software to enterprises in banking, financial services, and broader identity security.
Product overview
Keyless was a London-based privacy-preserving biometric authentication company offering Zero-Knowledge Biometrics technology. The company operated as a standalone product until its acquisition by Ping Identity in late 2025/early 2026. Following the acquisition, Keyless' technology was integrated into Ping Identity's product portfolio under the PingOne Recognize brand, which now offers the core Zero-Knowledge Biometrics capability as part of Ping's broader identity security platform.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- PingOne Recognize (Zero-Knowledge Biometrics) Privacy-preserving biometric authentication and re-verification software that authenticates users via facial recognition without storing retrievable biometric data; supports passwordless multi-factor authentication across login, payments, step-up authentication, account recovery, and device binding, deployable as multi-tenant SaaS, dedicated-tenant SaaS, or self-managed software, and targeted at enterprise customers in banking, financial services, and broader identity security use cases.
Quantifiable outcome
- Re-verification in under 300 milliseconds
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Keyless
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Keyless technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability3 records
Feature6 records
Keyless partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- IDnowcoreIDnow and Keyless formed a strategic partnership in July 2025 to deliver continuous trust across the digital identity lifecycle. The partnership combines IDnow's identity verification capabilities with Keyless' privacy-preserving biometric authentication for comprehensive digital identity solutions.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves9 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Keyless competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- iProov: iProov provides face biometric authentication with certified liveness detection for enterprises, governments, and financial institutions. It is the most direct competitor to Keyless, offering cloud-based biometric authentication with deepfake defense for similar banking and enterprise use cases.
- BioID: BioID provides biometric authentication (face, periocular, voice) with liveness detection for online identity verification and KYC. It competes directly with Keyless on privacy-preserving biometric authentication for enterprise and consumer use cases.
- HYPR: HYPR provides passwordless multi-factor authentication using biometric and PKI-based approaches for enterprise workforce and customer identity. It competes directly with Keyless on MFA/passwordless biometric authentication and serves similar enterprise and financial services customers.
- Daon: Daon provides biometric identity verification and authentication solutions for financial services, workforce, and border management. It competes directly with Keyless on biometric authentication and serves similar enterprise and regulated-industry customers.
- Veridium: Veridium offers passwordless biometric authentication using face, fingerprint, and behavioral biometrics for enterprise workforce and customer identity. It is a direct competitor to Keyless on device-independent biometric MFA, with similar emphasis on eliminating passwords and OTPs.
- Nok Nok Labs: Nok Nok Labs delivers FIDO-based biometric authentication for enterprise and banking customers, including strong customer authentication under PSD2. It is a direct competitor in privacy-preserving biometric MFA, with overlapping use cases in payments, login, and step-up authentication.
Broad incumbents
- Okta: Okta is a leading cloud identity and access management platform offering SSO, MFA, lifecycle management, and increasingly biometric authenticators. As a broad incumbent in the IAM space, it competes with Keyless indirectly through its Auth0/Factor product lines for enterprise authentication budgets.
- Microsoft (Entra / Windows Hello): Microsoft Entra and Windows Hello provide biometric authentication (face/fingerprint) and identity governance across enterprise and consumer use cases at massive scale. As a broad incumbent, it competes with Keyless on enterprise and consumer biometric authentication, particularly for organizations already embedded in the Microsoft ecosystem.
Emerging players
- Onfido: Onfido provides AI-powered identity verification with biometric checks for KYC, onboarding, and fraud prevention. While its primary focus is identity verification rather than ongoing authentication, it overlaps with Keyless on biometric identity assurance and serves similar financial services customers.
- Jumio: Jumio provides identity verification, biometric authentication, and AML compliance for financial services, fintech, and online businesses. It intersects with Keyless in biometric authentication and serves overlapping banking customers, but its primary strength is onboarding verification.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Keyless social profiles
Digital presenceKeyless financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Keyless leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Keyless funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds9 records
Investors15 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Keyless M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Keyless
What does Keyless do?
Keyless provides privacy-preserving biometric authentication software that uses Zero-Knowledge Biometrics™ to verify and re-verify users via facial recognition without storing retrievable biometric data. The platform authenticates users in under 300 milliseconds across any device with a front-facing camera and is offered as multi-tenant SaaS, dedicated-tenant SaaS, or self-managed software to enterprises in banking, financial services, and broader identity security.
Is Keyless a public or private company?
Keyless is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently acquired.
When was Keyless founded?
Keyless was founded in 2019. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Keyless based?
Keyless is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Keyless make money?
One revenue line is on record: biometric Authentication SaaS.
Who are Keyless's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are iProov, BioID, HYPR, Daon, Veridium and Nok Nok Labs. Broad incumbents are Okta and Microsoft (Entra / Windows Hello). Emerging players are Onfido and Jumio.
Does Keyless have an API?
No public API is recorded for Keyless.
What industry is Keyless in?
Keyless's product category is Biometric Authentication Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMAEAE, Authentication (MFA/Passwordless/Biometrics) Platforms, with a secondary code of HDAEAJAC, Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) & Passwordless Authentication. Its NAICS code is 561621.