CardLab

What CardLab does

CardLab Innovation ApS, founded in 2003 and headquartered in Herlev, Denmark, designs and manufactures biometric smart cards and a complementary backend authentication platform for enterprise and government customers. The company replaces password-based authentication with offline fingerprint verification, storing encrypted biometric templates and private keys within a secure element on the card so that fingerprint data never leaves the device during authentication. Its product portfolio includes four card variants (Access FIDO, Access Pro, Verity Card, Defender Card) supporting NFC, BLE, contact chip, and USB interfaces, plus the QuardLock backend platform (a wholly-owned subsidiary providing FIDO2/OTP authentication servers, APIs, Active Directory and Azure integration, and IAM orchestration), and the HardWallet Platform for custodial cryptocurrency wallets. Manufacturing is conducted at a wholly-owned facility in Thailand, with electronic circuit assembly outsourced to Asian partners outside China.

CardLab monetises through four streams: hardware sales of biometric cards, recurring SaaS revenue from the QuardLock platform (hosted, on-premise, or white-label), API integration and professional services, and licensing of the HardWallet Platform. The company sells via consultative enterprise field sales with quote-based multi-year contracts, supplemented by API-based integration partnerships and presence at industry events such as DALO Industry Days 2026 and Gitex Africa 2026. Named customers include Police & Sheriffs Press, Inc. (government-issued secure credentials) and Kvanto (elder/homecare compliance). The company holds over 100 active patents, FIDO2 certification, the EU Horizon Program Seal of Excellence, and is preparing for ISO 9001, CE, FCC, and UL certifications, with strategic alignment to GDPR, eIDAS 2.0, PSD3, and NIS2. CardLab is privately held, founder-led under CEO Frank Sandeløv, with no disclosed external funding rounds or institutional investors in the source material.

Name

CardLab

Legal name

CardLab Innovation ApS

Website

https://cardlab.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CardLab designs and manufactures biometric smart cards with on-card fingerprint verification, backed by its QuardLock FIDO2 authentication platform, serving enterprise, government, defense, and healthcare customers globally from Denmark with manufacturing in Thailand.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Biometric Smart Cards

NAICS

Security Systems Services (except Locksmiths) (561621)

SIC

Computer Communications Equipment (3576)

akta.pro primary industry

Authentication (MFA/Passwordless/Biometrics) Platforms (BPAMAEAE)

Keywords

• Biometric smart cards
• Identity access management
• FIDO2 authentication
• Secure element storage
• Passwordless authentication

Headquarters

HQ city

Herlev

HQ country

Denmark

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Biometric Smart Card Hardware Sales: Sale of biometric smart cards including Access FIDO, Access Pro, Verity Card, and Defender Card. Cards are produced at CardLab's own factory in Thailand with assembled electronic circuits outsourced to approved assembly houses in Asia (outside China).
2. QuardLock Backend Platform (SaaS): Hosted or on-premise QuardLock authentication server for token verification, identity management, and FIDO2/OTP authentication services. Available as hosted cloud solution, on-premise installation, or white-label solution.
3. API Integration and Professional Services: Integration services via API, customization and development services, and support for material and component qualification for lamination.
4. HardWallet Platform Licensing: Platform licensing for devices equipped with secure element to create custodial wallets accessible through fingerprint authentication, targeting cryptocurrency and digital asset management.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CardLab designs, manufactures, and sells biometric smart cards with on-card fingerprint verification and a backend identity management platform (QuardLock). The hardware portfolio includes Access FIDO, Access Pro, Verity Card, and Defender Card, which replace passwords with offline biometric authentication for physical and digital access. The QuardLock backend provides token verification, FIDO2/OTP authentication, SSO, MFA orchestration, and integration with enterprise systems via API.

Product overview

CardLab offers a biometric authentication platform consisting of hardware smart cards and a backend authentication platform. The product portfolio includes four biometric card variants (Access FIDO, Access Pro, Verity Card, Defender Card), the HardWallet Platform for digital asset protection, and the QuardLock backend system comprising the Authentication Server, API, and System Configurator Tool. The cards store biometric templates and private keys offline on the card's secure element, while the QuardLock platform manages token verification, identity management, and integration with enterprise systems like Active Directory and Microsoft Azure.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• QuardLock: Backend authentication platform for token verification and Identity Management systems, providing FIDO2 certified authentication server, SSO, MFA orchestration, and access management solutions.
• CardLab Access FIDO
• CardLab Access Pro
• CardLab Verity Card
• CardLab Defender Card
• HardWallet Platform

Products and services

• CardLab Access FIDO Card A FIDO certified combined physical and digital access card with NFC and BLE communication interface designed for password-free biometric access and logon. Uses fingerprint technology from Fingerprint Cards AB (FPC).
• CardLab Access Pro A batteryless card solution with a Secure Element to store functional applets. With onboard energy harvesting, it works with most NFC readers purely on energy harvesting.
• CardLab Verity Card Biometric one-time password card with rechargeable battery and small display, providing biometric OTP generation without compromise.
• CardLab Defender Card The most advanced CardLab card offering with a large display and rechargeable battery, providing a wide range of opportunities for authentication and access control including multi-factor authentication.
• HardWallet Platform A platform that can be integrated with devices equipped with a secure element, enabling the creation of custodial wallets accessible only through the user's authenticated fingerprint. Cryptographic operations are performed within the secure element.
• QuardLock API API solution for integrating QuardLock Authentication Server with customer solutions for passwordless authentication. Enables secure and inexpensive logon with verified customer identity.
• QuardLock System Configurator Tool Full platform for Access Identity Management, Active Directory integration, and more to unlock seamless security with passwordless authentication.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduces Identity & Access Management costs by up to 60%
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature9 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Fingerprint Cards AB (FPC)coreTechnology or Integration · 11 March 2026FPC provides fingerprint technology powering CardLab's Access FIDO biometric smart card. The partnership enables CardLab to integrate FPC's AllKey Software Platform for biometric authentication in enterprise settings, supporting passwordless and multi-factor security across physical and digital systems. Access FIDO is certified to FIDO2 standards.
• Police & Sheriffs Press, Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership to upgrade secure Government Issue card product line incorporating CardLab suite of technologies. Integration of CardLab technologies with Police & Sheriffs Press's patented Holoview and LaserLoc technologies creates a combined solution for government clients worldwide.
• QuardLockcoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerQuardLock is a CardLab subsidiary providing state-of-the-art backend solutions for token verification and Identity Management systems. Offers QuardLock Authentication Server, QuardLock API, and System Configurator Tool for passwordless authentication.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Yubico: Yubico is the leading vendor of FIDO2 hardware authentication keys (YubiKey) and is the most direct competitor to CardLab in phishing-resistant, hardware-rooted authentication for enterprise and government. Both target the same passwordless MFA use case, though Yubico's tokens are not biometric by default.
• HID Global: HID Global supplies secure identity credentials, smart cards, and physical access control solutions for enterprise and government. It is a direct comparable in physical/logical access cards, including higher-assurance credentials for the same buyer segments as CardLab.
• AuthenTrend: AuthenTrend produces biometric smart cards and FIDO2 authenticators aimed at enterprise passwordless authentication. It is a smaller direct competitor in the same niche as CardLab with comparable technology positioning.
• Zwipe: Zwipe develops biometric payment and access cards using on-card fingerprint verification — directly comparable technology to CardLab's biometric smart cards. It targets similar payment and access use cases and is one of the closest niche competitors.

Emerging players

• NEXT Biometrics: NEXT Biometrics makes large-area fingerprint sensor technology marketed for biometric cards and access control. It targets the same secure-authentication use cases as CardLab, particularly in payment and access card programmes.
• IDEX Biometrics: IDEX Biometrics provides fingerprint sensor technology and reference designs specifically for biometric smart cards, overlapping with CardLab's product category. It is a more upstream technology enabler rather than a vertically integrated card vendor.
• Token (Token Bio): Token builds biometric wearable authentication devices (rings) for passwordless enterprise access. It addresses the same phishing-resistant MFA market as CardLab with a different form factor and represents an alternative approach to the same end-customer problem.

Others

• NXP Semiconductors: NXP supplies the secure-element chips that underpin many biometric and FIDO smart cards, including components likely used in CardLab's products. It is an adjacent ecosystem enabler rather than a direct competitor, but its roadmap shapes the addressable market.

Broad incumbents

• Thales: Thales (via its Gemalto heritage) is a global incumbent in secure smart cards, identity credentials, and biometric government ID programmes. It overlaps with CardLab in the smart-card hardware and identity space, but as part of a much larger portfolio spanning payments, telecom, and defence.
• IDEMIA: IDEMIA is a global leader in biometric and identity solutions, including government-issued smart cards and secure credentials. It competes with CardLab in biometric card programmes for government, defence, and critical infrastructure, but at far greater scale and geographic reach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/111294389
• Xx.com/CardLab_Inno

Compliance7 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries2 records

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 CardLab