HYPR Gets Samsung Investment, Samsung Pass Integration

HYPR‘s decentralized authentication solution will be incorporated into Samsung Pass as part of a larger partnership between the companies.

First announced ahead of the ultimately recalled Note7 smartphone, Samsung Pass is Samsung’s bid to create a mobile master key for digital services including online banking. Now, with its integration of HYPR’s decentralized approach to biometric data, the solution is being targeted primarily at the enterprise, where employees will be able to use Samsung Pass on their Samsung mobile devices to attain quick and convenient access to IT assets.

Concomitant to the integration is a new investment in HYPR from Samsung NEXT Ventures, a Samsung arm dedicated to investing in innovative software. In a statement announcing the HYPR partnership, a Samsung NEXT representative explained that his organization is “increasingly motivated by the concept of decentralization,” adding, “Understanding that the need to access technology at the edge will only grow, we see identity and authentication being further intertwined.”

The firms did not disclose the terms of Samsung NEXT’s investment in their announcement, but HYPR did reveal that it has raised its total funding to $13.8 million; while a Series A funding round concluded last October had brought the total to $12.8 million.