Unico Acquires OwnID, Leader in Passwordless Authentication, to Offer the Most Accurate and Frictionless ID Solutions

OwnID's acquisition by Unico expands tech portfolio and strengthens geographic expansion, reinforcing the vision of becoming the main global identity network

PALO ALTO, CA, UNITED STATES, September 22, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Unico, a global company and the largest identity verification network in Latin America, today announced the acquisition of the passkey business from OwnID, a leader in decentralized passwordless authentication. Headquartered in San Francisco, USA, with research and development offices in Tel Aviv, Israel, the acquisition represents a decisive step toward Unico's vision to become the world's main identity network and reinforces its pioneering commitment to delivering the most accurate solutions with an unparalleled user experience.

"We are very confident in incorporating OwnID's top-notch technical team and opening our first hub in the 'startup nation' - Israel. Their vibrant entrepreneurial culture, strong investments in R&D, and robust security solutions will be key differentiators for our global identity network," says Diego Martins, founder and CEO of Unico.

Unico will now offer an even more complete portfolio for clients who demand security, privacy, and frictionless experience in the user authentication process. The operation also marks Unico's entry into the United States, consolidating its position as a global player.

This strengthens Unico's international expansion, especially in the United States, where Unico will now serve large corporations, such as the International Olympic Committee, Bayer, Carrefour, Michael Kors, Nestlé, NFL, among others.

This strategic move positions Unico at the forefront of the industry by combining the precision of Unico IDCloud – the only secure identity verification platform with guaranteed accuracy – and IDPay - for the identity validation on online purchases - with the passwordless experience of passkeys. This union eliminates password vulnerabilities and securely covers the entire digital identity usage journey, from onboardings in banks, fintechs, retail, bets, and airlines, to transactional flows such as logins, credit contracting, among others. Additionally, these joint efforts will reinforce Unico's additional layers of security against deepfakes, injections, and other sophisticated attacks.

"This acquisition reinforces our commitment to accelerating innovation in digital identification and expands access to world-class security solutions with practicality. We are excited to add OwnID's talent to our team, as well as its technology to our ecosystem and to Unico’s well-known network effect. With this, we are creating a new global authentication standard," says Marcelo Zanelatto, Head of Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) at Unico.

"OwnID's mission is to empower businesses by providing their customers with a simple and secure passwordless experience. By joining Unico, we are taking this purpose to a new level, adding identity verification and resilient security layers against the latest and most sophisticated attacks on the market. We are also very excited about the opportunity to scale our technology to hundreds of millions of people," highlights Rooly Eliezerov, co-founder and president at OwnID, who will also join Unico's team.

Over its 18 years, Unico has made nine strategic acquisitions to diversify its portfolio, strengthen proprietary technologies, and conquer the market, notably Trully and Oz Forensics, in 2024. "In addition to these recent acquisitions, Unico has been evaluating more companies in East Asia, especially Indonesia, Singapore, and Nigeria. Our focus is to expand our identity network globally, as well as strengthen our proprietary technology ecosystem," concludes the founder Martins.

About Unico
Unico is the largest identity verification network in the world and a pillar of trust in digital society. With solutions based on facial biometrics, machine learning, and reinforced security layers, Unico validates with 100% certainty who is performing a transaction and the associated identity risks. In this way, it fights frauds, protects data, and promotes trust between people and companies, contributing to building a safer and less bureaucratic world. Globally renowned funds such as SoftBank, General Atlantic, and Goldman Sachs trust and invest in Unico. Learn more at www.unico.io.

About OwnID
OwnID is the identity platform for a passwordless world. It provides businesses with a comprehensive, passkey-first solution to eliminate passwords, reduce fraud, and streamline user experiences across web and mobile. By replacing frustrating login and registration processes with frictionless authentication, OwnID helps enterprise customers like the NFL, Carnival, and Nestlé increase user acquisition, boost engagement, and enhance security.

Carol Silvestre
Unico
unico@agencia.pub
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