What Ascertia does

Ascertia is a UK-based (Guildford) software company founded in 2001 that builds Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and digital-signature trust infrastructure. Its platform enables organizations to sign, seal, timestamp, verify, and archive electronic documents, and to issue and manage the lifecycle of digital certificates for people, devices, and things. The company serves regulated, high-assurance buyers—governments and defence agencies, central and commercial banks, insurers, legal firms, and Trust Service Providers—with named customers including Scotiabank, Deutsche Bundesbank, Banca d'Italia, Airbus, Kuehne+Nagel, Naturgy, and the British Library.

The product architecture is a platform-plus-modules model anchored by three core products: ADSS Signing Server (a full PKI trust-services framework spanning signing, verification, timestamping, OCSP/SCVP validation, and certificate issuance), SigningHub (an end-to-end e-signature and document-approval workflow application), and ADSS Web RA Server (registration/vetting and certificate lifecycle management). These are surrounded by roughly 15+ add-on modules—including the ADSS SAM Appliance (a Qualified Signature Creation Device for remote signing), TSA/LTANS/SAFE archiving components, an ePassport ICAO border solution, PKI-as-a-Service, and a Trusted Onboarding Platform. Products are eIDAS-compliant across Basic, Advanced, and Qualified Signatures and eSeals, and the company holds ISO/IEC 27001:2022, ISO 9001:2015, Common Criteria, and ETSI certifications, plus Cloud Signature Consortium and PKI Consortium membership.

The business model is B2B enterprise software sold via software licenses and recurring subscriptions, delivered in both cloud (SaaS) and on-premise configurations. Go-to-market combines a direct, consultative enterprise field-sales motion (quote-based pricing via "Request a Quote"/"Contact Us"; no public price tiers) with a global ecosystem of 100+ channel partners and resellers who provide local implementation and support. Segmentation is vertical-led, targeting government, banking/finance/insurance, legal, aviation, construction, logistics, and Trust Service Providers.

Name

Ascertia

Legal name

Ascertia

Website

https://ascertia.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Ascertia is a UK-based software company providing PKI and digital-signature trust infrastructure—ADSS Server, SigningHub, and Web RA—for signing, sealing, and certificate management, serving governments, banks, insurers, legal firms, and Trust Service Providers worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Guildford

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Software Licenses and Subscriptions: The company generates revenue through software licenses and subscriptions for its ADSS Server, SigningHub, and related PKI/trust service products. Both cloud (SaaS) and on-premise deployment options are available.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Ascertia builds and sells digital signature and public key infrastructure (PKI) software used by governments, banks, and enterprises to create, verify, and manage legally binding electronic signatures, digital certificates, and trust services. Its flagship products are ADSS Signing Server (a PKI trust services framework with signing, verification, timestamping and certificate modules), SigningHub (an end-to-end e-signature and document approval workflow), and ADSS Web RA Server (a registration authority for digital certificate lifecycle management). The offerings are delivered as on-premise software or cloud services and target regulated, security-sensitive buyers.

Product overview

Ascertia delivers a platform-plus-modules architecture for digital trust and PKI solutions. The three strategic core products are: ADSS Signing Server (a complete PKI trust services framework with modules for signing, verification, timestamping, and certificate issuance/validation), SigningHub (a user-friendly end-to-end e-signature and document approval solution), and ADSS Web RA Server (an advanced registration application for managing digital certificate lifecycles). Additional add-on modules include ADSS SAM Appliance for remote signing with QSCD, ADSS OCSP/SCVP Servers for certificate validation, ADSS TSA Server for timestamping, ADSS LTANS Evidence Server for long-term evidence preservation, SAFE Long Term Archiving, ADSS AutoFile Processor for bulk eSealing, GoNotice for certified electronic delivery, Client Integrations (Virtual CSP and SDK), ADSS ePassport Server for ICAO border control, Trusted Onboarding Platform (TOP) for digital identity onboarding, Ascertia PKI, PKI-as-a-Service, and Legal Entity Identifiers solutions. The platform supports elDAS Compliant Basic, Advanced & Qualified Signatures and eSeals with embedded timestamping.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ADSS Server: A complete PKI trust services framework product with modules for signing, verification, timestamping and core PKI services including certificate issuance and validation
• SigningHub
• ADSS Web RA

Products and services

• ADSS Signing Server A complete PKI trust services framework product with modules for digital signing, verification, timestamping and core PKI services including certificate issuance and validation. Sold to enterprises, governments and Trust Service Providers as on-premise software or cloud service.
• SigningHub An end-to-end electronic signature and document approval solution for preparing, sending, reviewing, signing and tracking business documents. Available as a cloud service or on-premise solution for organisations needing legally binding e-signature workflows.
• ADSS Web RA Server An advanced registration and vetting application that issues and manages the end-to-end lifecycle of digital certificates for people, devices and things. Used by registration authorities and trust service providers to vet identities and manage certificate lifecycles.
• ADSS SAM Appliance (Remote QSCD) A Remote Signature Appliance acting as a Qualified Signature Creation Device (QSCD) that enables secure remote digital signing in compliance with eIDAS requirements. Sold to organizations needing centralized, hardware-backed qualified signing for distributed users.
• PKI-as-a-Service A cloud-delivered PKI service offering certificate lifecycle management without requiring customers to operate on-premise PKI infrastructure. Targeted at organizations that want managed certificate issuance, validation and lifecycle services.
• Trusted Onboarding Platform (TOP) A digital identity onboarding platform for secure customer identification and verification (eKYC), enabling organisations to onboard users with strong identity assurance prior to issuing digital certificates or signing credentials.
• ADSS ePassport Server An ICAO-compliant ePassport border verification solution that enables border control authorities to read and verify electronic passports and related travel documents.
• ADSS AutoFile Processor An automated bulk e-Sealing solution that applies qualified electronic seals to high volumes of business documents (e.g. invoices, statements) for external or public consumption. Sold to organisations that need to seal documents at scale.
• SAFE Long Term Archiving (LTA) A long-term document archiving solution that preserves electronic documents and their digital signatures with continuing legal validity over multi-year retention periods.
• GoNotice A Certified Electronic Delivery service providing legally binding electronic delivery of documents with proof of sending and receipt, suitable for regulated notifications.
• Ascertia PKI A core PKI infrastructure product providing certificate authority and key management services, forming the foundation for issuing, managing and validating digital certificates across the Ascertia platform.

Named customers7 records

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered not specified.

• Adacomnot specifiedChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorChannel partner providing digital trust solutions and PKI services in their market.
• Airbusnot specifiedTechnology or IntegrationMajor aerospace company using Ascertia's digital trust solutions.
• Altron Securitynot specifiedChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSecurity-focused channel partner providing Ascertia solutions in their market.
• Banca d'Italianot specifiedTechnology or IntegrationItalian central bank using Ascertia's digital trust solutions.
• BeYsnot specifiedTechnology or IntegrationDigital trust services provider.
• British Librarynot specifiedTechnology or IntegrationUK's national library using digital trust solutions.
• Creaplusnot specifiedChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorChannel partner providing solutions in their region.
• Deutsche Bundesbanknot specifiedTechnology or IntegrationGerman central bank using Ascertia's digital trust solutions.
• DigiCert QuoVadisnot specifiedTechnology or IntegrationCertificate authority providing PKI certificates integrated with Ascertia's platform.
• IMERCnot specifiedChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorChannel partner providing solutions in Chile.
• JCC (Jordanian Computer Center)not specifiedTechnology or IntegrationDigital trust services provider in Jordan.
• Kuehne+Nagelnot specifiedTechnology or IntegrationGlobal logistics company using Ascertia's digital trust solutions.
• MiTeknot specifiedTechnology or IntegrationGlobal company using digital trust solutions.
• Naturgynot specifiedTechnology or IntegrationSpanish multinational energy company using digital trust solutions.
• Scotiabanknot specifiedTechnology or IntegrationMajor international bank using Ascertia's digital trust solutions.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• GlobalSign:
• Entrust: Entrust is a direct PKI, digital signature, and identity solutions competitor with a comparable product portfolio (certificate authorities, signing solutions, identity verification). It serves many of the same government, banking, and enterprise segments as Ascertia, including eIDAS-relevant deployments.
• DigiCert: DigiCert (which acquired QuoVadis, an existing Ascertia technology/integration partner) is a leading certificate authority and PKI provider. It overlaps directly with Ascertia's certificate issuance, validation (OCSP/SCVP), and trust services product lines for both TLS and digital signing use cases.

Broad incumbents

• DocuSign: DocuSign is the global market leader in electronic signatures and digital transaction management. It competes with Ascertia's SigningHub and e-signature offerings at the high end of the enterprise market, though its core focus is broader contract workflows rather than PKI/qualified trust services.
• Thales (Digital Identity & Security): Thales (including the former Gemalto business) is a global incumbent in PKI, HSMs, digital identity, and qualified trust services. It competes with Ascertia in eIDAS-qualified signing, government eIDs, and large enterprise PKI deployments across the same verticals.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/ESIGNwithAscertia
• Xx.com/ascertia
• Facebookfacebook.com/Ascertia
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ascertia

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Ascertia