SafeTravellers

What SafeTravellers does

SafeTravellers is an EU Horizon Europe research project developing multi-modal biometric technologies for secure, frictionless border crossing at the European Union's external borders. The platform integrates 10 distinct technology modules into a Traveller App and a Border Guard App, enabling Digital Travel Credential creation, 1:1 multi-biometric verification, and detection of identity document fraud, morphing attacks, presentation attacks, look-alike and makeup attacks, and sensor interception/TOCTOU exploits. An Explainable AI recommendation engine supports border guard decision-making without removing human authority, and the architecture is designed to interoperate with EU border management information systems including EES, ETIAS, VIS, SIS, Eurodac, and ECRIS-TCN.

The project is delivered by a 23-partner consortium spanning 14 EU countries, including end-user law enforcement agencies (Ministries of Interior of Slovakia and Finland, Polícia Judiciária), industry partners (IDEMIA, iProov, Netcompany, AIT), and associations (EAB, EAASP, UIC), with INOV serving as project coordinator. Operations are funded entirely by a €7.5 million grant from the European Union's Horizon Europe programme (Grant Agreement No. 101121269) over a fixed 36-month duration; there is no commercial pricing, no paying customers, and no equity capital structure. The platform is validated through four pilot environments covering air, land, maritime, and rail border modalities.

Go-to-market is event-driven and community-led, relying on participation in the World Border Security Congress, Milipol Paris, and the Security Research Event, alongside a formal Stakeholder Programme inviting border management professionals to contribute requirements and feedback. The project does not pursue traditional commercial distribution; its stated objective is to deliver a near-operational system that could be adopted by EU border management authorities. As a result, the entity operates more as a publicly funded R&D programme than as a commercial vendor, and its long-term trajectory beyond the grant horizon is not disclosed.

Name

SafeTravellers

Legal name

SafeTravellers

Website

https://safetravellers-project.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

SafeTravellers is an EU Horizon Europe research consortium of 23 partners across 14 countries, developing multi-modal biometric border-crossing technology with fraud and morphing attack detection for EU border authorities and travellers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. EU Horizon Europe Research Grant: SafeTravellers is a research project co-funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement No. 101121269 under the Horizon Europe programme (HORIZON-CL3-2022-BM-01). The project has a budget of 7.5 million Euro over 36 months. Revenue is not generated through commercial activities but through EU research funding.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

SafeTravellers is a Horizon Europe research project that develops multi-modal biometric technologies for secure, frictionless border crossing. Its core deliverable is an integrated software framework that combines a Traveller App and a Border Guard App, incorporating 10 technologies for identity verification, biometric attack detection, document fraud detection, and threat intelligence. The project is not commercial; outputs are validated through live pilot demonstrations for EU border authorities and law enforcement agencies.

Product overview

SafeTravellers is an EU Horizon Europe research project developing a comprehensive border crossing platform consisting of two main applications (Traveller App and Border Guard App) integrating 10 core technologies. The platform enables frictionless, secure digital identity verification at EU borders using multi-modal biometrics, Digital Travel Credentials, and advanced fraud detection including morphing attack prevention, document authentication, and sensor security mechanisms. The system supports both EU citizens and third-country nationals with privacy-preserving architecture and GDPR compliance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SafeTravellers Platform Integrated software framework combining a Traveller App and a Border Guard App, unifying 10 technologies (multi-modal biometrics fusion, SSI mobile passport, EMBDS, fraud detection, morphing/look-alike/makeup attack detection, XAI recommendations, threat intelligence) to enable secure and frictionless identity verification for EU and third-country national citizens at border crossings.
• Traveller App Mobile application for European citizens and third-country nationals that creates Digital Travel Credentials (DTC) by extracting biometric data from passports, receives travel tokens, and validates stored biometric data with live checks before trips to enable frictionless border crossing.
• Border Guard App Mobile application for border authorities performing 1:1 multi-biometric matching, detecting identity document fraud and biometric attacks (morphing, presentation, look-alike, makeup, sensor interception), and receiving explainable, auditable verification results to streamline traveller processing while preserving human decision-making.

Quantifiable outcome

• 391 document fraud cases detected at Lisbon Airport in first 5 months of 2024 (25% completely forged, 22% misuse by impostor, 24% undocumented travellers)

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability8 records

Feature10 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• iProovcoreTechnology or Integration · 4 May 2026iProov demonstrated the SafeTravellers ID Wallet at WBSC 2026. Joe Palmer and Jonathan Ellis from iProov showed the ID Wallet in action, including demonstration of biometric attack prevention technologies.
• NetcompanycoreTechnology or Integration · 4 May 2026Netcompany presented the European MultiBiometrics DataSpace (EMBDS) and its innovative technologies at WBSC 2026 demonstrations.
• IDEMIA Public Security FrancecoreTechnology or Integration · 4 May 2026IDEMIA demonstrated ID document fraud detection technology at WBSC 2026. Also represented SafeTravellers at Milipol 2025. A key consortium partner contributing to identity verification and document security technologies.
• Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT)coreTechnology or Integration · 4 May 2026AIT presented morphing attack detection technology at Security Research Event 2025 and WBSC 2026. David Fischinger from AIT demonstrated how AI-assisted tools identify passports obtained through manipulated images.
• European Association for Biometrics (EAB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEAB manages the SafeTravellers website and consortium coordination. As the leading European association for biometrics, EAB provides expertise and serves as the administrative lead for the project.
• European Association of Airport and Seaport Police (EAASP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEAASP serves as the pilot coordinator for SafeTravellers. As a long-standing World Border Security Congress partner, EAASP enabled the project's participation in WBSC workshops and demonstrations. Led the 2024 workshop that gathered over 70 practitioners to define end-user requirements.
• International Union of Railways (UIC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUIC leads the railway pilot scenario (Pilot 4), the first to move into full pilot demonstration and validation phase. Hosted the Phase 2 demonstration day on 11 June 2026 at UIC headquarters in Paris.
• INOVcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerINOV serves as the Project Coordinator for SafeTravellers. Carolina Marques from INOV led project introduction at WBSC 2026. INOV is the primary contact point for project coordination ([email protected]).
• Polícia Judiciária (Portugal)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnd-user partner providing consulting and technical input regarding Security Documents and Document Fraud. Supplied data showing 391 document fraud cases detected at Lisbon Airport in early 2024.
• Ministry of Interior of the Slovak RepubliccoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnd-user partner focused on improving border controls against identity theft, human trafficking, and illegal migration. Bratislava Airport served as Pilot 1 location for airport biometric attack testing.
• Ministry of the Interior of FinlandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnd-user partner contributing to development of new technologies and representing North European perspectives. Finland's long non-Schengen border makes border security solutions critically important. Finland serves as Pilot 3 location for land border identification.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Veridos: Joint venture of Giesecke+Devrient and Bundesdruckerei supplying ePassports, border management systems, and biometric identity solutions to governments. Overlaps with SafeTravellers' document authentication, biometric verification, and border agency customer base.
• Vision-Box: Provider of biometric seamless travel solutions, automated border control eGates, and Digital Travel Credential infrastructure. Directly comparable to SafeTravellers' frictionless identification and DTC modules and the same EU border authority buyer profile.
• iProov: Specializes in biometric face authentication with liveness and deepfake/morphing attack detection for border, travel, and identity verification. Directly comparable to SafeTravellers' mobile passport, liveness, and presentation-attack defense modules; also a consortium partner that demonstrated the SafeTravellers ID Wallet at WBSC 2026.
• secunet: German provider of border control technology, eGates, and biometric middleware widely deployed across EU borders (e.g., EasyPASS, secunet biomiddle). Comparable in target customer (EU border authorities) and product scope (automated border control, identity verification), though more commercially mature.
• IDEMIA: Global leader in biometric identity and border security solutions, supplying identity documents, facial recognition, and automated border control systems. Direct overlap with SafeTravellers' multi-modal biometrics, fraud detection, and document authentication capabilities; also an active consortium partner demonstrating integration with the SafeTravellers platform.

Emerging players

• Regula Forensics: Vendor of document authentication and identity verification software used by border agencies, banks, and law enforcement. Comparable to SafeTravellers' document fraud detection and morphing attack detection capabilities, with partial rather than full-stack overlap.

Others

• Netcompany: IT services and digital solutions provider for European public sector, contributing the European MultiBiometrics DataSpace (EMBDS) to SafeTravellers. Comparable as a partner/integrator rather than direct competitor; relevant for understanding commercialization pathways via public-sector IT vendors.
• Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT): Applied research organization contributing morphing attack detection technology to SafeTravellers. Comparable as a public R&D partner in the same EU-funded border-security ecosystem rather than a commercial competitor.

Broad incumbents

• Thales: Major provider of border management, biometric enrollment, and e-gate solutions across EU member states, including for EES/ETIAS-compatible infrastructure. Comparable as a broad incumbent whose portfolio overlaps SafeTravellers' identity verification and border crossing scope, though at much larger scale and with established commercial deployments.
• NEC Corporation: Operates one of the world's largest biometric identification businesses (NeoFace), serving border control, immigration, and national ID programs. Comparable as an incumbent multi-modal biometrics vendor with deep operational deployments overlapping SafeTravellers' identity verification focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/safetravellers-project

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 SafeTravellers