Kansas City-based tech firm EyeVerify announced a major deal Sunday, one that will put its technology on millions of Chinese smart phones.
EyeVerify develops mobile technology that can recognize the unique veins in a person’s eye in a fraction of a second. Users just have to look at their phone cameras to unlock the device, or open a password-protected site. EyeVerify founder Toby Rush says it’s more secure than a password, and easier.
“So all you need to do look at your device and pick up and it’s going to open,” says Rush, looking at his own phone. “So we’re looking at the blood vessels in the whites of your eyes, transforming that into a key that’s unlocking your phone.”
EyeVerify’s biometric technology isn’t widely available, but founder Toby Rush says the phone maker ZTE is building the technology into its new high-end Grand S3 model.
“We will be on that device when it ships, and it will be shipping in March,” says Rush.
Rush says other smart phone manufactures are going to move forward with EyeVerify technology in coming months, and that his company will need to bring on new staff to meet demand.
EyeVerify is three years old. It sprang out of Kansas City’s Startup Village and recently moved to alarger space in Kansas City's Crossroads District.