Mobai Secures $1.2 Million Grant for Innovative Biometric Research

Mobai, a Norwegian facial biometrics company, has been awarded a grant of 12.3 million Norwegian kroner (approximately US$1.2 million) by the Research Council of Norway (Norges forskningsråd). This funding will support research into user-controlled shareable biometrics aimed at enhancing security in digital wallets. The project will be conducted in collaboration with KU Leuven, an academic institution, and an identity solutions company specializing in multi-party computation (MPC).

This initiative is designed to tackle significant challenges related to cross-border identification and identity fraud, as noted by Mobai on its LinkedIn page. The company emphasized, “We’ll explore new methods for secure credential binding in digital wallets while ensuring compliance with GDPR, eIDAS 2.0, and the EU AI Act.”

Legal and Ethical Considerations in Biometric Data Use

Beyond its technical focus, the project aims to provide valuable legal and ethical insights that could influence future guidelines for the responsible use of biometric data. This aligns with the objectives of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 16.9, which advocates for legal identity for all individuals.

Founded in 2019 as a spin-off from the Norwegian Biometrics Laboratory at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Mobai has quickly established itself in the biometrics sector. The company previously attracted significant investment, securing 2.8 million Norwegian kroner (around US$2.8 million) in an oversubscribed seed funding round last year. Notable investors included TD Veen, former Google and Twitter executive Patrick Pichette, and Oslo-based consultancy Protonic Partners.

Expanding Biometric Solutions for Security

In late 2021, Mobai announced €2.8 million in funding for a project aimed at enhancing security within Norway’s banking sector. The company’s offerings include advanced solutions such as biometric face verification, liveness detection, injection attack detection, deepfake detection, and morphing attack detection.

Mobai is recognized as one of the key vendors in deepfake protection software, highlighted in a report compiled by Goode Intelligence. With the recent grant, Mobai is poised to make significant strides in the biometric landscape, addressing both security challenges and compliance with evolving regulations.