20Face
20Face is a Netherlands-based software company that develops privacy-proof facial recognition technology for contactless access control, serving enterprises and governments across office, logistics, healthcare, leisure, education, and high-security environments through its 20faceXS product and 20faceSDK licensing offering.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersEnschede, Netherlands
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What 20Face does
20Face is a Netherlands-based (Enschede) private software company that develops privacy-first facial recognition technology for physical and logical access control. The company's core premise is "privacy-proof" facial recognition: user consent-based self-registration without persistent photo storage, combined with liveness and mask detection, intended to align with European biometric data regulations.
The product portfolio consists of two offerings. 20faceXS is the end-customer access control solution sold to enterprises and governments for contactless entry across office, logistics, high-security, leisure (including casinos), healthcare, and education environments. 20faceSDK is a licensing-oriented software development kit that allows third-party integrators and physical access control vendors to embed 20Face's recognition engine into their own solutions. Underlying technology is self-developed facial recognition algorithms built in close cooperation with the University of Twente, with reported 99.85% accuracy on the LFW benchmark, top-10 worldwide code execution speed, NIST compliance, and liveness/mask detection. The company is ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certified (obtained October 2024).
The business model is a mix of recurring subscription (20faceXS deployments) and SDK licensing (20faceSDK). Go-to-market is primarily channel-led: 20Face distributes through an established partner ecosystem of physical access control vendors and system integrators (Nedap, Paxton, TKH Security, Boon Edam, Nsecure as anchor partners, plus a long tail of regional integrators), supplemented by direct sales for enterprise and government accounts. The company is founder-owned, privately held, has 11-50 employees, and has not disclosed external funding. Named enterprise customer references include Groupe Tranchant (French casino operator).
20Face firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- 20Face
- Legal name
- 20Face
- Website
- https://20face.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- 20Face is a Netherlands-based software company that develops privacy-proof facial recognition technology for contactless access control, serving enterprises and governments across office, logistics, healthcare, leisure, education, and high-security environments through its 20faceXS product and 20faceSDK licensing offering.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
20Face industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Facial Recognition / Biometric Access Control
- akta.pro primary industry
- Facial Recognition & Biometrics (HDAAAEAC)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Authentication (MFA/Passwordless/Biometrics) Platforms (BPAMAEAE)
Keywords
Where 20Face is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Enschede
- HQ country
- Netherlands
- HQ region
- Europe
Markets served
20Face business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- 20faceXS Product: Privacy proof access by facial recognition solution for companies and governments. Sold as a product with likely hardware and software components for physical access control.
- 20faceSDK Product: Software Development Kit for the integration of facial recognition into a wide range of possible solutions. Sold as a licensing/product offering to developers and partners.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels5 records
20Face product offering
Product offeringCore offering
20Face develops self-built, privacy-proof facial recognition technology for access control and entry management. It sells 20faceXS, a facial recognition access solution for companies and governments, and 20faceSDK, a software development kit for integrating facial recognition into third-party solutions.
Product overview
20Face offers a portfolio of two products: 20faceXS (a standalone privacy proof facial recognition access control solution for companies and governments) and 20faceSDK (a software development kit enabling third-party integration of facial recognition capabilities). The company also provides industry-specific solutions across office, logistics, high secure, leisure, healthcare, and logical access control verticals.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- 20faceXS: Privacy proof access by facial recognition solution for companies and governments.
- 20faceSDK
Products and services
- 20faceXS Privacy-proof access by facial recognition solution for companies and governments, providing secure contactless entry management without saving photos.
- 20faceSDK Software Development Kit enabling integration of facial recognition into a wide range of solutions for third-party developers and partners.
Quantifiable outcome
- 99.85% accuracy on LFW benchmark
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use 20Face
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
20Face technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability3 records
Feature8 records
20Face partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
15 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- WinkelsminorAccess management integration partner listed in the partner ecosystem for implementation and installation services.
- VoskampminorAccess management integration partner listed in the partner ecosystem.
- VCSminorAccess management integration partner listed in the partner ecosystem.
- NedapcoreEstablished name in access management industry with technology/integration partnership for facial recognition solutions.
- PaxtoncoreEstablished access control manufacturer with technology integration partnership for facial recognition.
- KeySystemsminorAccess management integration partner.
- IT BuildingminorIntegration partner for building technology solutions.
- CreominorIntegration partner for technology solutions.
- TKH SecuritycoreSecurity technology company with integration partnership for facial recognition access solutions.
- CompominorAccess management integration partner.
- Boon EdamcorePremium entrance solutions manufacturer with technology integration for secured entry systems.
- NsecurecoreAccess management technology partner for integrated security solutions.
- Secure LogisticsminorLogistics facility integration partner for secure access solutions.
- Lamson SecurityminorSecurity solutions integration partner.
- AvicsminorSecurity technology integration partner.
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
20Face competitors and assessment
Company assessmentRegional players
- Nedap: Dutch access management and security hardware OEM and partner of 20Face. Comparable as a regional access-control player and potential competitive threat if it bundles in-house biometrics.
Direct peers
- Herta Security: European (Spain-based) facial recognition vendor specializing in access control, security, and surveillance use cases, with a focus on crowded environments and government clients. Closest geographic/vertical peer.
- Oosto (formerly AnyVision): Direct peer offering AI-based facial recognition for access control, security, and identity verification. Competes head-to-head with 20Face in enterprise biometric authentication use cases.
- Visage Technologies: European (Sweden-based) provider of face detection, recognition, and analysis SDKs/products with privacy-aware offerings. Direct competitor to 20faceSDK and 20faceXS in EMEA markets.
- Paravision: US-based computer vision company focused on face recognition for security, access control, and identity verification, with NIST-validated algorithms. Direct peer in performance-oriented face recognition.
- Kairos: Facial recognition platform providing face detection, verification, and identification APIs/SDKs. Direct competitor to 20faceSDK in developer-facing biometric integration.
Broad incumbents
- Idemia: Global leader in biometric identity and security, offering facial recognition for border control, access, and government applications. Larger incumbent competing across 20Face's enterprise and government segments.
- Thales (Digital Identity & Security): Multinational providing biometric identity verification, access management, and border security solutions. Large incumbent competing with 20Face in regulated enterprise and government deployments.
- NEC (NeoFace): Global face recognition leader (NeoFace) widely deployed in government and enterprise access projects. Competes with 20Face on accuracy, scale, and large-tender capability.
Emerging players
- BioID: Germany-based provider of biometric authentication (face, voice) as a service with strong GDPR/privacy emphasis. Closest peer to 20Face on the privacy-first biometric authentication narrative.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
20Face social profiles
Digital presence20Face compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
20Face financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
20Face leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
20Face funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors4 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
20Face 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 20Face
What does 20Face do?
20Face develops self-built, privacy-proof facial recognition technology for access control and entry management. It sells 20faceXS, a facial recognition access solution for companies and governments, and 20faceSDK, a software development kit for integrating facial recognition into third-party solutions.
Is 20Face a public or private company?
20Face is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was 20Face founded?
20Face was founded in 2012. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is 20Face based?
20Face is headquartered in Enschede, Netherlands, in the Europe region.
How does 20Face make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. 20faceXS Product is the primary driver. The others are 20faceSDK Product.
Who are 20Face's main competitors?
Nedap is listed as a regional player. Direct peers are Herta Security, Oosto (formerly AnyVision), Visage Technologies, Paravision and Kairos. Broad incumbents are Idemia, Thales (Digital Identity & Security) and NEC (NeoFace). BioID is listed as an emerging player.
Does 20Face have an API?
No public API is recorded for 20Face.
What industry is 20Face in?
20Face's product category is Facial Recognition / Biometric Access Control. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAAAEAC, Facial Recognition & Biometrics, with a secondary code of BPAMAEAE, Authentication (MFA/Passwordless/Biometrics) Platforms.