Betaface
Betaface is a Munich-based sole proprietorship selling proprietary face recognition SDKs and a hosted Betaface API for image and video analysis, serving enterprise customers across defense, entertainment, advertising, and software development verticals.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2007
- HeadquartersMunich, Germany
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Betaface does
Betaface is a privately held sole proprietorship operated by Software Oleksandr Kazakov from Kirchheim bei Munich, Germany, that has been in continuous operation since approximately 2007. The company sells face recognition software and related computer vision capabilities to enterprise and developer customers through three delivery mechanisms: a Face Detection and Recognition SDK for Windows and Linux, a hosted HTTP-based Betaface API with a free tier and paid dedicated servers, and complete on-premises web service licensing for customers requiring data sovereignty. Its technology stack encompasses face detection, 22 basic and 101 advanced facial landmark detection, demographic and attribute classification (age, gender, ethnicity, smile, glasses, facial hair, hairstyle, skin and hair color), face geometry measurements, 1:1 and 1:N face matching, face tracking on video, face manipulation primitives, and an NSFW/adult content classifier. The publicly documented SDK 3.2 algorithm reports a mean classification accuracy of 0.9953 on the LFW benchmark (2017).
The company's commercial posture is best described as a horizontal developer-and-enterprise vendor serving video surveillance and security software vendors, video and image archives, web advertising and entertainment platforms, media content producers, and end-user/B2B software developers. Named customers span defense (BAE Systems, Cassidian/EADS), entertainment (Disney, 20th Century Fox, Roadhouse Interactive), consumer products (Crayola, Canon), advertising (BETC/Evian, Hill Holliday, Wunderman for Microsoft), academia (Warsaw University of Technology), and nonprofit (Wellcome Trust). Revenue mechanics span one-time SDK licenses, recurring API subscriptions, multi-year on-premises enterprise licenses, and custom software development services; pricing is not publicly disclosed. As of March 2026 the company website is being restored after a period of disruption, and no external institutional funding, M&A, or leadership changes beyond the founder and a single director are reported in the source data.
Betaface firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Betaface
- Legal name
- Software Oleksandr Kazakov
- Website
- https://betaface.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2007
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Betaface is a Munich-based sole proprietorship selling proprietary face recognition SDKs and a hosted Betaface API for image and video analysis, serving enterprise customers across defense, entertainment, advertising, and software development verticals.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Betaface is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Munich
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Betaface business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations
Revenue model
- SDK Licensing: Face Detection and Recognition SDK sold as software development kit for Windows and Linux. Includes multiple samples of usage and complete projects with video support and persons database.
- Cloud API Services: Betaface API web service providing face detection and recognition via HTTP. Free tier for non-commercial and low-traffic commercial applications. Paid options include dedicated processing servers.
- On-Premises Web Service Licensing: Licensing complete web service infrastructure to run on customer's own hardware for enterprise deployments.
- Custom Software Development Services: Customized face recognition solutions including interactive online applications, web services, and system integration projects.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free tier for non-commercial and low-traffic commercial use |
| Subscription | Monthly | Dedicated processing servers for higher-volume commercial use |
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | On-premises web service licensing |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels3 records
Betaface product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Betaface sells face recognition and computer vision software that detects, analyzes, and identifies faces in images, video files, and live video streams. Its commercial offerings are delivered through two primary channels: a Face Detection and Recognition SDK for Windows and Linux (sold as a perpetual license with samples and database) and the Betaface API, an HTTP-based cloud web service with a free tier for non-commercial or low-traffic commercial use and paid options including dedicated processing servers and on-premises deployment licensing.
Product overview
Betaface is a face recognition software vendor offering a unified portfolio centered on face detection and recognition technology. The core product line consists of two main delivery mechanisms: the Face Detection and Recognition SDK for Windows and Linux (enabling on-premise deployment with 22 basic and 101 advanced facial landmark detection, face recognition with 1:1 and 1:N matching, and video tracking) and the Betaface API as an HTTP-based web service (offering cloud-hosted face detection, recognition, and analysis with free and paid tiers). Supplementary offerings include an HTML5/JavaScript online demo, an Android mobile app, custom software development services, and hosted web services for image and video analysis.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Face Detection and Recognition SDK On-premise software development kit for face detection, facial landmark detection (22 basic and 101 advanced points), face analysis (age, gender, ethnicity, smile), attribute detection (glasses, facial hair, hairstyle, hair/skin color), face recognition with 1:1 and 1:N matching, face geometry measurements, face manipulation, and video tracking. Runs on Windows and Linux; supports images, video files, and live video streams. Targeted at developers and enterprises embedding face recognition into their own applications.
- Betaface API HTTP-based cloud web service providing face detection and recognition functionality. Supports image upload to retrieve metadata, create face databases/namespaces, search persons, and verify identity. Free tier available for non-commercial or low-traffic commercial use; paid options include dedicated processing servers and on-premise licensing. Targeted at developers, SMBs, and enterprise integrators who prefer cloud consumption.
- Custom Software Development Services Bespoke face recognition solution development for clients, including interactive online applications, web services, and system integration projects. Delivered as professional services engagements for enterprise customers with custom requirements.
Quantifiable outcome
- Mean classification accuracy of 0.9953 on LFW (Labeled Faces in the Wild) benchmark with standard error of 0.0009 for SDK 3.2 (2017)
Companies that use Betaface
Customer profileNamed customers14 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Betaface technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability4 records
Feature10 records
Betaface partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators2 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Betaface competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- AWS Rekognition: Amazon's managed face detection and recognition service within the AWS portfolio. Competes with Betaface on enterprise face analysis at hyperscaler scale and pricing, offering similar detection, recognition, and demographic classification capabilities but bundled with broader cloud services.
- Microsoft Azure Face API: Microsoft's cloud face recognition service integrated with Azure Cognitive Services. Directly comparable in API-based face detection, verification, and identification use cases — Betaface even lists Wunderman (Microsoft) among its customers — though Azure benefits from enterprise bundling and Azure AD integration.
- Google Cloud Vision AI: Google's general-purpose computer vision API including face detection and landmark analysis. Comparable to Betaface on developer-facing image analysis, with substantially broader feature breadth, custom model training (AutoML Vision), and integration with the Google Cloud ecosystem.
- SenseTime: Hong Kong-listed AI company with a leading face recognition platform serving government, security, and enterprise customers across Asia. Overlaps with Betaface on core face detection, recognition, and demographic analysis capabilities, but at substantially larger scale and with broader computer vision portfolio.
- Idemia: Global leader in biometric identification including face recognition for border control, law enforcement, and civil ID. Comparable to Betaface in the defense and security segments where Betaface's Cassidian and BAE Systems relationships sit, though Idemia operates at vastly greater scale and with substantially broader modality coverage.
- NEC Corporation (Face Recognition): NEC's face recognition business, including NeoFace products used widely in airports, law enforcement, and surveillance. Comparable on core face matching accuracy and large-scale deployment, with substantially greater resources and a globally installed base overlapping Betaface's security customer set.
Direct peers
- Kairos: US-based face recognition API provider serving enterprise and developer customers with similar SDK and API delivery models. Closely comparable business model and feature set to Betaface — face detection, verification, identification, demographic analysis — at similar company scale.
- Clarifai: AI platform offering face detection, recognition, and demographic classification alongside broader computer vision capabilities. Comparable developer/API go-to-market and overlapping enterprise customer base, though Clarifai has meaningfully more funding and broader vision taxonomy.
- Cognitec Systems: German face recognition vendor based in Dresden, offering FaceVACS products for border control, law enforcement, and commercial customers. Direct geographic and product competitor to Betaface, particularly in European on-premises deployments for defense and security — directly overlapping with Betaface's Cassidian and BAE Systems relationships.
- Face++ (Megvii): Megvii's face recognition platform offering detection, comparison, search, and demographic analysis via API and SDK — closely parallel to Betaface's product surface, with significantly larger scale and a Chinese market focus. Comparable on technology and use cases (security, media, advertising).
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Betaface social profiles
Digital presenceBetaface financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Betaface leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Betaface funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Betaface 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 Betaface
What does Betaface do?
Betaface sells face recognition and computer vision software that detects, analyzes, and identifies faces in images, video files, and live video streams. Its commercial offerings are delivered through two primary channels: a Face Detection and Recognition SDK for Windows and Linux (sold as a perpetual license with samples and database) and the Betaface API, an HTTP-based cloud web service with a free tier for non-commercial or low-traffic commercial use and paid options including dedicated processing servers and on-premises deployment licensing.
Is Betaface a public or private company?
Betaface is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Betaface founded?
Betaface was founded in 2007. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Betaface based?
Betaface is headquartered in Munich, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does Betaface make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. SDK Licensing is the primary driver. The others are cloud API Services, on-Premises Web Service Licensing and custom Software Development Services.
Who are Betaface's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are AWS Rekognition, Microsoft Azure Face API, Google Cloud Vision AI, SenseTime, Idemia and NEC Corporation (Face Recognition). Direct peers are Kairos, Clarifai, Cognitec Systems and Face++ (Megvii).
Does Betaface have an API?
Yes. Face detection and face recognition web service (HTTP). Allows uploading images to retrieve image metadata, create face recognition databases and namespaces, search persons in namespaces, verify identity, and more. Features include: multiple faces detection, cropped face images, face landmarks (22 basic, 101 advanced), faces recognition and persons database, gender/age/ethnicity/smile detection, glasses/facial hair/hairstyle detection, skin and hair color detection, extended face geometrical measurements, face features top level descriptors, background color and clothes color detection, 1:1 and 1:N search, faces similarity. Free for non-commercial or low traffic commercial applications. Paid options include dedicated processing servers and licensing complete web service to run on own hardware. Developer documentation is at betaface.com/wpa/wp-content/uploads/Betaface-SDK-manual.pdf.