The archive · Money & Fintech · Strategic decision · 2024–2026
Unico's global trust bet: OwnID buy, 20 countries, international revenue up 130%
Brazilian IDtech Unico bets facial-verification scale exports: Oz Forensics and OwnID deals, ~25M checks/month, Q1 2026 international revenue up 130%.
Unico
What the business is
Runs an identity-verification network for banks, fintechs, retailers and platforms: facial biometrics, document checks and anti-fraud signals, now adding passkey authentication via OwnID; it processes roughly 25 million identity transactions a month.
How it started
Unico's global push began after it built Latin America's largest identity network on facial biometrics — roughly 25 million transactions a month — and started buying foreign specialists. IT Forum reports nine acquisitions outside Brazil in recent years, including Trully and Oz Forensics in 2024; founder and CEO Diego Martins described the goal as becoming the principal and most secure identity network in the world, combining face verification with passkeys.
What happened
In September 2025 Unico acquired OwnID, an Israeli-born, US-based passkey authentication company processing over 3.5 million authentications a month for clients including Nestlé, SAP, the NFL and Michael Kors, giving Unico its US entry point and a passwordless layer over its IDCloud and IDPay products. Results followed: in Q1 2026 Unico said verification volume rose 84% year on year, international revenue rose 130%, Mexico's transaction volume tripled (up 204%), consolidated revenue grew 34%, and the company operates in 20 countries with 30–40% growth guidance for 2026, adding age-verification in Brazil and evaluating Argentina as its next market.
How it ended up
Scaling as a would-be global trust infrastructure: 20 countries, accelerating international revenue, and an M&A pipeline still open — Martins told IT Forum he is evaluating acquisitions in Indonesia, Singapore and Nigeria.
Background
Unico is Brazil's largest identity-verification network, processing roughly 25 million identity transactions a month for banks, fintechs and retailers. After building that scale on facial biometrics and anti-fraud technology at home, the company's bet is that the same capability exports: it has made nine acquisitions outside Brazil in recent years, including Trully and Oz Forensics in 2024, according to IT Forum.
The clearest move came in September 2025, when Unico acquired OwnID, a US-based passkey and passwordless-authentication company handling more than 3.5 million authentications a month for clients including Nestlé, SAP, the NFL and Michael Kors. The deal gave Unico its US entry point and a way to cover the full identity journey — face and document checks plus passkeys — rather than only onboarding.
The numbers support the thesis so far: in Q1 2026 Unico reported verification volume up 84% year on year, international revenue up 130%, Mexico's transaction volume tripled, consolidated revenue up 34%, operations in 20 countries, and 30–40% growth guidance for the year. Founder Diego Martins told IT Forum the company is evaluating further acquisitions in Indonesia, Singapore and Nigeria.
What has to be true
- Anti-fraud skill at Brazilian scale (about 25 million checks a month) is scarce abroad, where synthetic identity fraud is only starting to hit banks and platforms.
- Buying OwnID delivered US clients such as Nestlé, SAP and the NFL immediately, instead of years of cold market entry.
- Each acquisition added a product layer — face checks from Oz Forensics, passkeys from OwnID — so the network sells a journey, not a single check.
- The bet is falsifiable and so far on track: Q1 2026 international revenue up 130% and Mexican transaction volume up 204%.
What can be applied
Export the regulated-market winner's assets: Unico's edge was years of Brazilian anti-fraud operations, so it bought foreign products rather than building trust in each market from zero.
Aftermath
As of 2026-09-06, Unico operates in 20 countries and processes about 25 million identity transactions a month. Its Q1 2026 results showed verification volume up 84%, international revenue up 130%, Mexico's transaction volume tripled, and consolidated revenue up 34%, with 30–40% growth guidance for 2026. The September 2025 acquisition of OwnID brought passkey authentication and US clients such as Nestlé, SAP, the NFL and Michael Kors; founder Diego Martins says further acquisitions in Indonesia, Singapore and Nigeria are under evaluation. No exit or IPO has been announced.
Sources
- Com tecnologia brasileira, Unico cresce 130% em receita global no 1° trimestre
- Unico adquire OwnID, especialista em identidade sem senha
- Unico Acquires OwnID
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