AI Models Training AI Models – Identity News Digest

Welcome to FindBiometrics’ digest of identity industry news. Here’s what you need to know about the world of digital identity and biometrics today:

SMU Researchers Use AI to Build Face Dataset for AI Training

Researchers at Southern Methodist University in Texas have been using generative AI to build a demographically rich database of synthetic images of humans to help train facial recognition systems. The images were constructed using the Nvidia DGX SuperPOD platform, and the project being among the first in a recently established “Intelligent Systems and Bias Examination Lab”. Researcher Corey Clark explained that gathering real-world images faces “challenges like consent, fairness, and legal compliance,” whereas synthetic, AI-generated images remove those obstacles.

Sumsub Releases AI Models for Deepfake Detection

Sumsub has launched a set of four Machine Learning-driven models designed to enable the detection of deepfakes in images. And the company is offering its “For Fake’s Sake” model set for free, inviting the AI research community to combine them with their own methods of deepfake analysis to see if they can get even stronger results. “We’re pleased to share our experimental synthetic image detection models as a benchmark for further development in the battle against AI-generated fraud,” said the company’s Head of AI/ML, Pavel Goldman-Kalaydin.

Veristat Acquires Biometrics-focused Clinical Research Firm

Veristat, a Massachusetts-based clinical research organization and consultancy, has acquired Instat Clinical Research, a similar firm focused on biometrics. Instat has teams based in the United States and India, and Veristat says the latter office will complement its own facility in Taipei, allowing clients to access services around the clock. “As biotherapeutics continue to evolve, so does biometrics, the unequivocal underpinning of clinical research,” said Instat co-founder and CEO Kyle McBride, adding that the acquisition will allow the companies to offer “world-class end-to-end services to our clients while acting with the speed and effectiveness our customers have come to rely on.”

IDEMIA I&S Approved for DoD’s Skillbridge Program

IDEMIA Identity and Security (I&S) North America has been approved for the Department of Defense (DOD) Skillbridge Program, which is aimed at helping active duty members of the US military to gain private sector work experience within the last six months of their service. IDEMIA says it has opportunities for service members from the entry level to senior roles across all of its business arms, from security to engineering to project management. “We have hired many veterans at IDEMIA, and value the experiences and perspectives they bring to help us deliver mission-critical services to federal, state, and local agencies,” said IDEMIA I&S North America’s VP of Human Resources, Krista Crawley.

Google’s mDL Reaches Three More States

Google’s digital driver’s license has come to three more states: Arizona, Colorado, and Georgia. Residents can upload a virtual version of their license or state ID on the Google Wallet app, through a selfie-based process that asks the user to capture photos of the front and back of their ID, and to pose their head in different positions as they take a selfie video. The development comes after Google launched its mobile ID system in Maryland earlier this year.

Vietnam’s Namitech Raises $2 Million in Funding

Vietnam-based startup Namitech has raised $2 million in a “pre-Series A” funding round, according to Deal Street Asia. The round was led by Thien Viet Securities. Namitech was spun out of the country’s largest IT company, FPT Corporation, in 2022, and specializes in natural language processing and voice biometrics tech. The company says it has clients in its home country as well as Japan and the United States, and that they span the financial services, insurance, retail, and telecommunications sectors.

New Partnerships for Onfido, Trulioo

Onfido has established a partnership with Wearonize, a Switzerland-based provider of a digital wallet solution aimed primarily at enabling payments on wearable devices. The partnership will enable Wearonize’s clients, which include Swatch and the Live Nation spinoff Vibee, to take advantage of Onfido’s selfie-based identity verification solutions. In announcing the partnership, Wearonize co-founder and CEO Thorsten Roeske said Onfido’s technical expertise will help support his firm’s “strategic goals in the US as well as Europe.”

Vancouver-based Trulioo has acquired a high-profile new client in J.P. Morgan Payments, which will leverage its Person Match and Identity Document Verification tools to verify both people and businesses around the world. The Global Head of Trust & Safety for J.P. Morgan Payments, Ryan Schmiedl, said his firm chose Trulioo for “its breadth of personally identifiable data sources, impressive match rates and global footprint,” adding that Trulioo’s tech would be used “during the onboarding experience and beyond.” The news comes after Trulioo upgraded its Workflow Studio platform this past summer in an effort to streamline the onboarding process for businesses.

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October 20, 2023 – by Alex Perala