Tech Company Blink Identity Gets $1.5M In Seed Funding

https://twitter.com/blink_identity – Blink Identity

Venture capital firms Sinai Ventures and Techstars, along with Live Nation are among those that have bundled $1.5 million in seed funding for Austin-based tech company Blink Identity.

Blink Identity’s claim to fame is its ability to identify people through facial recognition technology while they are in motion. The company’s website said its technology has been used for operational testing at U.S. military bases around the world. The company seems to have been founded earlier this year.

Ticketmaster announced May 3 that it would be investing in the company and would be looking to incorporate its tech into its Ticketmaster Presence initiative. 

The funding and partnership with Live Nation will allow Blink to run pilot programs in “many different venues,” according to the company’s website, allowing them to refine the product.

When TM announced its initial investment, the ticketing giant said the move fits into its “identity-based ticketing” efforts, which a statement says includes communicating with fans will in venue and increasing safety. In Live Nation’s First Quarter Financial Results report the partnership was mentioned in the same breath as the Verified Fan program, which has been used to make sure tickets get to real fans of artists like Taylor Swift, Pearl Jam, Elton John and U2.

A statement noted that Live Nation and Blink Identity became acquainted through the 2018 Techstars Music Accelerator program. 

Blink said its technology is applicable not only for live events, but in the healthcare industry and in other commercial buildings to “monitor employee location and space utilization.” The company is led by CEO Mary Haskett and CTO Alex Kilpatrick.

“Blink Identity has created a fast, accurate and user-first identity service for live entertainment venues, solving the bottleneck problem and creating a preferential experience for consumers and venue owners alike,” Jordan Fudge of Sinai Ventures said in a statement. “We believe that this technology is widely applicable, and that Mary and Alex’s experience developing biometric identification technology for the Department of Defense uniquely qualifies them to lead the charge.”