Daon, Inc.

Daon (pronounced day-on) is an international biometrics and identity assurance software company founded in 1999 by Irish entrepreneur Dermot Desmond. The name, Daon, was chosen because it stems from the Celtic word for human being, duine daonna.[1]

Daon's primary business is in software development where they create and integrate biometric identity assurance systems such as facial recognition, voice recognition, fingerprints, retina scans, and vein patterns to verify a person’s identity. Its products include IdentityX (their flagship biometric mobile authentication platform), DaonEngine, DaonEnroll, DaonAnalytics, and Credential Connect.

IdentityX is a platform that allows users to authenticate themselves on any mobile device using biometrics instead of a password. IdentityX uses facial recognition, voice recognition, fingerprint, and more to prove a user is who they claim to be. In 2015, IdentityX was one of the first products to be certified by the FIDO alliance,[2] an industry consortium in which PayPal and Lenovo are among the founders. Also in 2015, Daon’s IdentityX won NACUSO’s Next Big Idea competition[3] as well as the Best in Show award from the CUNA Technology Council.[4]

Daon’s biometric products integrate with preexisting IT platforms and applications to manage identity life-cycles. Daon serves multiple markets including mobile authentication, border management, civil ID, traveler ID, employee credentialing, and access control. Their software is used worldwide at airports and international borders[5] and supports U.S. Registered Traveler airports.[6]

Daon is headquartered just miles outside of Washington, DC at the Reston Town Center in the Dulles Technology Corridor. Daon also has major operations in Dublin, located in the International Financial Services Center (IFSC). Daon has an additional office in Canberra, Australia.

Daon is a member of the Federation for Identity and Cross-Credentialing Systems, Inc. (FIXs) and has an executive serving as the elected chair of the BioAPI Consortium and as head of the U.S. delegation to ISO/IEC JTC1 SC37 (subcommittee on biometrics). Daon is also a member of the Biometrics Consortium.

In 2006, Daon and the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) entered into a joint venture to create the Security Biometric Clearing Network (SBCN) to provide services for biometric identity management, including enrollment, background checking, secure biometric and biographic information storage, and card issuance.

In 2008, Daon received the Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Award for Biometric Product Strategy Leadership.[7]

In August 2008 Daon acquired software assets and associated personnel for physical security interconnectivity from Enterprise Air, a New York-based provider of solutions for the physical security market.[8]

In July 2019, Daon announced the launch of its IdentityX® Digital Onboarding 2.0, which sets a new industry standard for all-digital customer onboarding.[9]