United Biometrics will be present at the Vivatech 2018 trade show!

UNITED BIOMETRICS is definitely making waves! As one of IBM's global partners, the startup was spotted alongside Orange Labs at the 2018 VivaTech trade show, held this year from May 24th to 26th in Paris. Specializing in multi-biometric authentication, the young company has developed an innovative solution for securing transactions. This innovation complies with European authentication regulations and continues to attract players in the banking sector, among others. We spoke with Christopher Richard and Yves Chemla, the co-founders of UNITED BIOMETRICS, about the startup's already impressive journey.

How did United Biometrics come about?

CR Yves and I have known each other for many years. Both coming from the startup tech world, we've had the opportunity to collaborate on several highly effective partnerships in the past. These successive experiences have allowed us to realize that we both share the same operational observation regarding the security vulnerabilities in electronic transactions. It's a fact that 50% fraudulent entries are made through passwords!

YC We had also anticipated the development of consumer devices like smartphones and the possibility of equipping them with biometric sensors. We therefore asked ourselves how to use these new technologies to secure transactions. This is how, as early as 2005, the idea of using biometrics to combat fraud was born. An idea that we immediately protected with a patent. We then waited for the market to mature before creating the company. It wasn't until 2014, when Apple created the first smartphone including a biometric sensor, that United Biometrics was founded.

Specifically, what do you propose?

CR In the context of an electronic transaction, we enable user authentication via biometric data. Take, for example, a banking transaction. With our solution, instead of entering a password in their application, the user will access a biometric authentication page to validate their action.

YC This authentication method is characterized by its multimodality. Our solution allows the use of several types of biometrics (fingerprints, voice recognition, facial recognition, behavioral biometrics) to validate authentication. Furthermore, because this authentication data is stored as a non-biometric identifier, it has the advantage of being completely anonymized, thus meeting the security requirements of European regulations.

A very sensitive subject that led you to resort to intellectual property very early on?

CR Indeed, this has been a fundamental element of our strategy. That is why, from the very beginning of the project, we filed a patent application with the French National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI), which was granted in 2006. We then made two further patent applications: one with the European Patent Office (EPO), which was granted in 2015, and the other with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, which was granted in 2017. 

How do you envision the future?

YC With great enthusiasm! We are currently working on establishing several important technological collaborations, including one with CEA-List. To further enhance the data protection of our platform, we need a new type of highly advanced cryptography – homomorphic cryptography. This is what we are currently working on with the CEA. We plan to leverage a CEA-List patent license that will allow us to encrypt biometric data and thus ensure its continuous security. This partnership was made possible thanks to IncubAlliance.

So, what exactly did IncubAlliance bring to your journey?

CR As part of our partnership with the CEA, IncubAlliance has enabled us to define a collaborative model consistent with our technological needs. Generally speaking, I would say that IncubAlliance helps startups make contacts and establish technological footholds within a still very fragmented innovation ecosystem. Throughout the incubation period, the incubator also provides invaluable support in terms of guidance and advice.

You recently participated in the 2018 edition of the VivaTech trade show. What are your key takeaways?

CR A huge number of meetings! We were able to give numerous presentations of our solutions to foreign delegations and representatives of international companies. At the request of our partner Orange, we presented two applications: a secure wallet with two biometric identifiers for making mobile card payments; and an automated purchase system with two biometric identifiers for secure mobile payments. These applications seem to have generated considerable interest, judging by the very productive discussions we had with major banks and insurance companies.