Dor Shany and Rooly Eliezerov, the creators of OwnID, previously created Gigya, a firm that aimed to make it easier to identify clients. They sold that company to SAP in 2017 for $350 million, but the notion of making it simple to log into websites without friction was constantly on their thoughts, so they founded OwnID last year to assist tackle that problem. Shany noted that the founding team knew identification from their time at Gigya and intended to build a firm that made authentication as simple as possible for users. Anyone who has forgotten a password understands how frustrating it can be.
They proposed moving the procedure to your phone and using the phone’s built-in authentication system. “Because it’s something you have and biometric authentication, the phone is truly a two-factor authentication on its own.” In essence, you go to a website, input your email address, click skip password,’ and log into your phone using your biometric (finger or face) ID.” That’s it. If you’ve ever tried to log into a streaming service like Netflix on your television, you know how difficult it can be. In these circumstances, OwnID displays a QR code on the screen, which you scan with your phone before logging into your phone.
Another nuisance that OwnID eliminates is the need to remember your password while switching devices (unless you have a password manager of some sort). Because you constantly authenticate with your phone with OwnID, that problem should go away. Shany claims it’s tough to spoof since you register with your phone when you first visit the website, and the cryptographic key is then saved on your phone. The website or app recognizes you when it detects your phone holds the key.
From the standpoint of the website or app owner, they connect to OwnID via an API, and after the code is added, users are given the option to log in without a password using their phone. OwnID is being made publicly available for the first time today, although it already has significant users like Nestlé and DeLonghi. It presently employs around 20 people, with hopes to treble that number next year. According to him, the pandemic has made it easier to recruit diverse staff since they can hire people from everywhere, giving them a lot more freedom. OwnID raised $6.2 million in a seed round headed by Mayfield today. According to Crunchbase, the founder’s previous startup, Gigya, garnered over $100 million before being bought by SAP. It’s worth remembering that Mayfield was also an early investor in that firm.
