Wicket Software

What Wicket Software does

Wicket Software (legal entity Wicket, LLC, incorporated in Nevada; headquartered at 1 Broadway, 14th Floor, Cambridge, MA, with an additional office in Doylestown, PA) is a private computer-vision company founded in 2020 that builds a cloud-based facial authentication platform for live events and enterprise facilities. The platform centers on a unified enroll-and-authenticate architecture that powers multiple use cases — event entry, facial payments, credentialing, and access control — and is delivered through two core product surfaces: Wicket Access (the patented facial-authentication software layer, protected by six granted US patents with additional international filings pending) and Wicket Edge (edge sensor hardware deployed at entry gates, concession stands, and access-controlled areas, reporting average authentication times around 203 milliseconds). The technology uses deep-learning neural networks to extract facial landmarks, geometry, and telemetry, converting images into 3D numeric embeddings that are matched against enrollment templates under an explicit opt-in, privacy-first model. Wicket is GDPR- and CCPA-compliant and has appointed an EU GDPR representative.

The company sells primarily through direct enterprise sales to venue operators, team ownership, and league organizations, supplemented by integrations with major ticketing and venue platforms — Ticketmaster, Paciolan (covering 75% of Power Four Conference college programs), Axess, and Salesforce — and through venue technology integrators. Revenue is generated via subscription licensing of the platform plus hardware sales of Wicket Edge devices, under quote-based enterprise agreements typically billed annually. Named enterprise customers span all major North American professional sports leagues (the NFL across all 30 stadiums for media and staff access starting August 2024, Cleveland Browns, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New Orleans Saints, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, LAFC, MLS), international sports (Australian Open, Geelong Cats), conferences (Salesforce Dreamforce), and college athletics (University of Florida, Boise State). Wicket reports 80+ enterprise customers, 180+ venues across six continents, and more than seven million authentication decisions processed to date. Leadership comprises CEO Alastair Partington, COO Jeff Boehm, and founder Sanjay Manandhar (previously of Neeva).

Name

Wicket Software

Legal name

Wicket, LLC

Website

https://wicketsoft.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Wicket Software builds a cloud-based, privacy-first facial authentication platform powering event entry, payments, credentialing, and access control for professional and college sports venues, live events, and secure facilities across six continents.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Biometric Identity & Access Management

NAICS

Lessors of Nonfinancial Intangible Assets (except Copyrighted Works) (533)

SIC

Patent Owners & Lessors (6794)

akta.pro primary industry

Rights Clearance & Chain-of-Title (Talent/Music/Clip Clearances) (MPAHALAC)

Keywords

• Facial authentication platform
• Biometric event entry
• Computer vision software
• Access control technology
• Identity verification systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Cambridge

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Facial Authentication Platform Licensing: Wicket licenses its facial authentication platform to sports venues, live events, and enterprise facilities. The platform serves multiple use cases including ticketing, payments, credentialing, and access control, generating recurring revenue from enterprise contracts.
2. Hardware and Edge Devices: Sale of Wicket Edge sensors and edge devices for facial authentication deployment at venues

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Wicket licenses a cloud-based facial authentication platform to sports venues, live events, and enterprise facilities. The platform enables face-as-ticket entry, face-linked payments at concessions, face-based credentialing for staff/VIPs/media, and managed access control through a single enrollment process. Revenue is generated primarily through enterprise subscription licensing paired with sales of Wicket Edge sensor hardware, deployed at venues globally including all 30 NFL stadiums, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and the Australian Open.

Product overview

Wicket is a computer vision technology company offering a cloud-based facial authentication platform. The product portfolio consists of the core Wicket Platform supporting enroll and authenticate services, paired with Wicket Access (patented facial ticketing) and Wicket Edge (edge sensor hardware). The platform enables multiple use cases including event entry, facial payments, credentialing, and access control. Developer tools (EnrollKit and AuthKit SDKs) allow third-party integration. The platform serves pro sports, college sports, live events, and secure facilities industries, processing over 7 million authentication decisions across 180+ venues globally.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Wicket Access: Facial authentication product for event entry and venue access control
• Wicket Edge
• Your Face is Your Ticket
• Your Face is Your Payment
• Your Face is Your Credential

Products and services

• Wicket Access

Quantifiable outcome

• Entry speed improved 4x vs traditional ticketing
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability2 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• PaciolancoreTechnology or Integration · 28 April 2026Partnership with Paciolan, a ticketing and analytics provider serving 75% of Power Four Conference college athletics programs, enabling schools to integrate facial authentication for streamlined venue entry. Integration will be available for pilot programs ahead of football season.
• Geelong CatsflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 August 2025Partnership with Geelong Cats AFL club for Express Members Lane using Wicket facial authentication at GMHBA Stadium. The partnership expanded from pilot to official offering with 500% increase in member participation.
• TicketmastercoreTechnology or Integration · 19 August 2025Integration with Ticketmaster enabling Geelong Cats Members to pair tickets with selfie photos for streamlined ticket redemption in under 5 seconds per group.
• LAFCcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 April 2025Partnership for BMO Stadium Express - facial authentication for ticketing and concessions enabling frictionless entry and payment experiences for LAFC fans.
• Cleveland BrownsflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2024Partnership with Cleveland Browns and Aramark Sports + Entertainment for large-scale deployment of Express Access concessions at Huntington Bank Field. 'Pay with your face' program for concessions growing rapidly.
• Mercedes-Benz StadiumflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 September 2024Multi-year deal to provide biometrics at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta including ticketing, payments, and credentialing. Stadium reports 20k enrolled fans and 40% season ticket holder enrollment.
• NFLflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 August 2024NFL deployment of Wicket facial authentication across all 30 league stadiums for media and staff access beginning August 8, 2024.
• AxesscoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership with Axess to deliver next-generation access system at BMO Stadium, combining Axess's turnstile technology with Wicket's facial authentication.
• SalesforceflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Dreamforce conference badge pickup - 3x faster check-in with 30k+ attendees opting into the facial authentication system. Wicket enables seamless registration experience at Salesforce events.
• MLSflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerMLS expanding use of Wicket facial authentication technology starting from 2025 season at league events for coach check-in and voucher distribution.
• Australian Open / Tennis AustraliaflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerBiometric facial ticketing implementation at Melbourne Park during 2024 Australian Open to facilitate faster entry and enhance security.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Alcatraz AI: Facial authentication specialist for enterprise access control. Comparable on the underlying biometric authentication capability and target use cases (secure facility entry, credentialing), but focuses on corporate campuses rather than high-throughput sports venues.
• Verkada: Cloud-managed physical security platform that has added facial authentication capabilities to its cameras and access-control offering. Comparable to Wicket on access control and AI-based identity, but Verkada's core focus is video surveillance rather than fan/ticketing workflows.
• RealNetworks (SAFR): Facial recognition platform with deployments in venues, secure facilities, and enterprise. Comparable to Wicket on the core technology and venue use cases, though a smaller player with a less specialized sports-vertical go-to-market.

Direct peers

• PopID: Facial recognition for payments and loyalty at restaurants and retail. Comparable to Wicket's facial payments and credentialing use cases; serves merchants with similar biometric checkout workflows, including venue and hospitality deployments.
• SKIDATA: Global provider of access and ticketing systems for stadiums, ski resorts, and parking facilities. Comparable to Wicket in targeting the same sports and entertainment venue buyers, though SKIDATA is hardware-led (turnstiles, gates) where Wicket is software/biometric-led.
• Blink Identity: Facial recognition platform focused on sports and live-event venue entry. Directly comparable to Wicket in both use case (frictionless stadium access) and target customer (pro sports teams and leagues), making it the closest head-to-head competitor.

Broad incumbents

• HID Global (Assa Abloy): Dominant access-control and credentialing vendor with growing biometric offerings. Comparable to Wicket on credentialing and access control at venues and secure facilities, but as part of a much broader physical-security portfolio rather than a focused face-authentication platform.
• Idemia: One of the world's largest biometric identity and authentication vendors, serving government, financial services, and increasingly sports/entertainment. Overlaps with Wicket on facial authentication capability but is a much broader portfolio player rather than a venue-specialist.
• Amazon One / Amazon Rekognition: Amazon's palm-based biometric payments service (Amazon One) and facial analysis service (Rekognition) represent the most likely hyperscaler threat to venue biometric authentication. Comparable capability, but as part of a much broader platform with massive distribution advantages.
• NEC Corporation (Biometric Solutions): Global technology incumbent with a major face-recognition and biometric identity business. Comparable to Wicket on the underlying technology (facial recognition), but its offering spans border control, public safety, and enterprise rather than venue-specialized use cases.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCwujbAdezho5iUMorbiFwaQ
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wicketsoftware
• Xx.com/Wicketsoftware

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Wicket Software