IDEMIA
IDEMIA is a French multinational technology company headquartered in Courbevoie, France. It provides identity-related security services, and sells facial recognition and other biometric identification products and software to private companies and governments.
Corporate history
Morpho
Morpho Systèmes was created in 1982, then absorbed by Sagem in 1993. In 2005, when Safran was created, Sagem became Sagem Défense Sécurité and in 2007, a separate company, Sagem Sécurité was created. It was renamed Morpho in 2010, then Safran Identity & Security in 2016.Morpho acquired several companies through its constitution. In 2005, Sagem Défense Sécurité acquired ORGA Kartensysteme GmbH which would be renamed Sagem Orga. In 2009, Safran acquired 81% of GE Homeland Protection, a wholly owned affiliate of the General Electric Company. On July 26, 2011 Safran completed the acquisition of L-1 Identity Solutions. Today, it is mainly part of MorphoTrust USA Inc. The company itself dates back over 50 years, from the time the first photo was added to a U.S. driver's license. In December 2015 Morpho announced its acquisition of AirTag.
In the 2020 report Out of Control Amnesty International criticized Morpho for supplying "facial recognition equipment directly to the Shanghai Public Security Bureau in 2015."
Oberthur Technologies
In 2007, the activities of Oberthur Card Systems, Oberthur Fiduciaire and Oberthur Cash Protection, companies initially originating from Imprimerie Oberthur, founded in 1842 in Rennes by François-Charles Oberthür, were merged into a single entity, Oberthur Technologies.In September 2016, Safran announced that it had entered into exclusive negotiations with Advent International, the owner of Oberthur Technologies since 2011, to sell its identity and security activities and the transaction was finalized on 31 May 2017. Oberthur Technologies and Safran Identity & Security were joining forces to create OT-Morpho, then renamed as IDEMIA on September 28.
IDEMIA (2017–present)
The new company is specialized in biometric identification and security, as well as secure payments with the aim of converging technologies developed for the public sector and those for the private sector.On 15 October 2018, Yann Delabrière replaced Didier Lamouche as President & CEO.
On 1 July 2020, Pierre Barrial was appointed as President & Chief Executive Officer of the Group; Yann Delabrière returned to his role as chairman of the board with effect from July 1, 2020.
IDEMIA has developed biometric bank cards where the PIN code is replaced by the user's fingerprint. Fingerprint technology is currently being tested internally by banking institutions and would make it possible to secure contactless payment from the first euro. Fingerprint verification is done directly on the card and no fingerprint-related elements are transmitted to the merchant nor the bank.
In response to the growing demand from companies to use contactless access control devices to guarantee both a secure and hygienic method of identity verification, IDEMIA offers biometric terminals that use facial recognition or enable fingerprint recognition.
In July 2025, the company announces the launch of a library of 68 classical and post-quantum cryptographic algorithms.
Areas of expertise
Identification
This represents the company's historical core business. It develops the latest technologies in the field of biometrics.The facial recognition technologies proposed by IDEMIA allow for smooth passage through the airport or stadium entrances and are also used to spot people banned from the stadium, identify fugitives in crowds or check the identity of people entering reserved areas. The company has many references in the police field or in the civil field: United States, United Arab Emirates, Albania, or India with the Aadhaar project whose objective is to provide a unique 12-digit number to each Indian citizen after enrolment of their biometric data allowing these citizens to open a bank account, access microcredit or receive social benefits.
IDEMIA produced 3 billion identity documents worldwide in 2020.
On the market of states and government services, IDEMIA participates in particular in the efforts of the United Nations Organisation to give everyone an identity by 2030.
Border Management
Morpho was a specialist in airport border solutions, these solutions are now carried by IDEMIA. Based on biometrics, the company offers semi-automated or automated solutions that enable a person's biometrics to be associated with that of his or her identity document, such as the ID2Travel solution.Singapore's Changi Airport has implemented biometric services provided by IDEMIA to identify and authenticate travelers as they pass through Terminals 3 and 4 of the airport. In Singapore, these services also equip Seletar airport and are also being adapted for other markets in the Asia-Pacific region.
Banking
IDEMIA develops solutions to improve the payment card. Thus the company carries out research such as the implementation of fingerprint recognition in the 0.8 millimeter thickness of a card or the dynamic change the visual cryptogram. In addition, the company is able to manufacture custom cards in small series adapted to each of its customers, including cards made with recycled plastic.Operations in the United States
IDEMIA provides products to various federal and state government entities in the United States and is the leading provider in the issuance of driver's licences.IDEMIA owns IdentoGO, a company that operates hundreds of storefronts in the United States which offer "state-of-the-art electronic fingerprint capture capabilities as well as other identity-related products and services." IdentoGO is an authorized service provider for the United States federal government, and as such provides identity verification services for multiple Transportation Security Administration programs, including TSA PreCheck and the Transportation Worker Identification Credential.
IDEMIA's facial analysis technology has also been used by various entities across the United States:
- In Florida, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office has been using IDEMIA's software in their Face Analysis Comparison & Examination System since 2001.
- In Massachusetts, the Registry of Motor Vehicles has been using IDEMIA's face recognition technology to run scans against the database of driver's license photos since 2006.
- In Arizona, the Department of Transportation implemented a mobile identification app with IDEMIA in 2021.