Digital identity startup Gtriip bags series B money to expand across Asia Pacific

US- and Singapore-based startup Gtriip, which enables guests to check in at their hotels through a mobile app, has secured an undisclosed amount of series B investment to drive its expansion plans in Asia Pacific.

Photo credit: Gtriip

One of the latest investors to come on board is Japanese VC firm Global Brain through the KDDI Open Innovation Fund III, which manages the investment portfolios of telecom operator KDDI. Other backers include Accord Ventures and Keppel’s Kepventure, according to a statement.

With the new investment, Gtriip wants to mainly target Asia-Pacific markets with aging populations, decreasing workforces, and high labor costs.

It also plans to diversify its product lines into new verticals and launch specialized products for other commercial properties, such as tenant access and visitor access. To this end, the company is set to onboard more developers, engineers, researchers, client success specialists, and sales team members.

Founded in 2014, Gtriip is a software-as-a-service product that allows users to validate their user identity with a selfie on their phones. It uses AI and machine learning tech to automatically verify photo IDs and owners.

The startup’s client hotels in Singapore are enabled with its e-visitor authentication system, which reduces guest check-in time at the front desk by 70% and improves productivity, it said.

“Gtriip envisions and believes in a future where people can travel without any photo ID or access card. Our face and biometrics suffice as our identity,” said Gtriip co-founder and chief technology officer Huang Siheng. “Once we have this in place, geographical mobility can become seamless.”

To date, Gtriip said it serves over 13,000 hotel rooms and office access points, completing over 1 million check-ins globally through its patented software solution.

It previously raised US$1 million in its series A funding round from connectivity solutions provider M1, which allowed it to scale its product to serve customers in Singapore and Macau. Some of its clients include Park Hotel Group, Amara Hotel Group, and other major casino and resort brands.