Promotional image of ANDOPEN’s SnapPass | Image provided by ANDOPEN
ANDOPEN’s Jayden Lee (right) responding to questions during the interview session
“Our On-Device AI Architecture Eliminates Hacking Vulnerabilities by Keeping Personal Biometric Information Securely in the Hands of the Individual.”
PANGYO, GYEONGGI-DO, SOUTH KOREA, July 17, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — As worries intensify over recent cloud server breaches and widespread leaks of personal data, a security technology startup that is redefining biometric authentication is capturing significant attention. The company commanding the spotlight is ANDOPEN Co., Ltd. (CEO Jayden Lee), based in Pangyo Techno Valley, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do. Moving away from the traditional approach of keeping biometric data on centralized servers, ANDOPEN unveiled ‘SnapPass,’ a privacy-focused multi-factor biometric authentication solution built on the principle that personal data should remain under the direct control of the individual rather than being managed by a server.
Because conventional biometric systems accumulate vast quantities of personal details on central servers linked through cloud networks, they inherently carry the danger of large-scale data exposure if a cyberattack occurs. Moreover, once biometric information is compromised, the repercussions are severe and irreversible, since it cannot be replaced like an ordinary password.
To address these fundamental weaknesses, ANDOPEN created SnapPass. This comprehensive offering comprises three main components: ‘SNAPPIN’ (also referred to as the card-type token ‘Snap’), a physical device carried by the user; ‘SNAPCHECK MOAI’ (also called SnapCheck), an on-device facial authentication terminal; and an integrated administration platform known as SPMS. Users encounter no complicated registration or operational steps; they simply look at the terminal and tap their token on-site, wrapped up in the concept “JUST LOOK & TAG.” When the token is tapped, the terminal instantly performs a 1:1 comparison and analysis between the compressed, encrypted facial data stored inside the token and the live facial images captured by the terminal’s camera.
The standout benefit of SnapPass is its complete independence from networks during the authentication process, which guarantees that no biometric traces remain on the terminal. The facial images captured solely for verification purposes are immediately erased from the device once the authentication check finishes, effectively removing the risk of personal data exposure. Additionally, unlike conventional 1:N (one-to-many) biometric approaches, where the chance of mistaken identification grows as the user population increases, SnapPass conducts exclusive 1:1 matching against the token presented, driving the likelihood of false recognition down to virtually zero. ANDOPEN has branded its proprietary technology as an ‘On-Device AI Physical Access Control Solution.’
The company’s technical prowess has already gained international recognition. It achieved back-to-back CES Innovation Awards, earned an Outstanding Information Security Technology designation from the Ministry of Science and ICT, and was selected as a finalist for the GLOMO Awards at MWC.
Pangyo Techno Valley sat down with ANDOPEN CEO Jayden Lee at the Startup Campus to talk about their decentralized security model, strategic enterprise opportunities, and future global plans.
Q1. Could you introduce your company and explain the vision behind it?
A. Our company, ANDOPEN, takes a fundamentally different approach to biometric recognition compared to conventional methods. When most people think about biometrics, they imagine a user’s personal information being stored on or dependent upon a cloud network or a device. In reality, every security weakness in biometrics originates from that exact storage model. Because traditional systems keep data in the cloud, your personal information sits outside your direct oversight, which introduces unavoidable vulnerabilities. Users have no way to confirm whether their data is being handled properly or misused. And if biometric data gets exposed even a single time, it’s not something you can swap out like a password. Given that it exists in such a high-stakes format, we chose to build a physically independent system called ‘SnapPass’ where the user directly manages all of the user’s personal information.
Q2. So the solution is to put the information back in the user’s hands instead of placing it somewhere else under someone else’s control. How exactly does that function?
A. Our integrated offering is called SnapPass. This ecosystem includes a device called ‘SnapCheck’ and a dedicated card-type token called ‘Snap’ that compresses, encrypts, and stores the user’s personal information using AI. To accommodate mobile token scenarios, we also make it available as a QR code. Additionally, the ecosystem features a management platform, SPMS, to oversee the entire workflow. All personal information exists exclusively on this physical token. When a user takes this token and taps it onto the device, the system immediately runs the primary token authentication layer to check whether it is a legitimate token with authorized access. Once confirmed as an authorized token, the device initiates the secondary authentication layer by capturing the user’s face with its camera and matching the live camera image against the compressed, encrypted data stored within the token to confirm that the person holding the card is indeed its legitimate owner.
Q3. A crucial point is that anyone can pick up a traditional physical key and use it, but this token ensures only the rightful owner can operate it. And what advantage does that provide?
A. Since users always carry their biometric information in a physically independent format, the SnapCheck hardware device holds no personal data. Although it does capture a facial image via the camera for face recognition, the process instantly deletes all acquired personal information once verification finishes. Conventional biometric systems inevitably see higher false recognition rates as the user base expands. With our model, the chance of false recognition is eliminated because it always performs strict 1:1 local matching. As a result, it avoids false acceptance errors, imposes no cap on the number of registered users, and requires no network connection. Never transmitting personal data across a network creates a powerful competitive advantage. That is why we describe our SnapPass solution as an “On-Device AI Access Control Solution.”
Q4. Which industries or commercial environments do you see as your initial targets for deploying this solution?
A. Our primary target market is physical access control—the physical security sector. We are concentrating our early efforts on this area. After we establish solid trust and a proven track record there, our aim is to branch out into other verticals. A good example is membership management at Costco, which neatly solves the problem of membership card sharing and unauthorized use with minimal overhead. With backing from the Seattle Economic Development Office, we are continuing discussions with Costco about potential implementation. Separately, we are already making progress on several fronts. Through our sales pipeline in the United States, we are currently advancing projects for casino memberships and patient registration cards for large-scale US hospitals. At the same time, we finalized a supply agreement to provide our workforce management solution to a food manufacturing facility in the US, with deployment scheduled for this September.
Q5. That sounds like a significant achievement. Are there any notable deployments or validation initiatives happening locally in South Korea?
A. Yes, we are currently advancing a major agreement. We were chosen for a demonstration project managed by the National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA) in Korea to apply sustainable development solutions to data centers. Data center security is obviously extremely critical. We are running a pilot project to upgrade their security infrastructure with our multi-factor authentication system, which will continue through the end of this year. We are also organizing a validation project with an international organization to verify employment credentials of vocational trainees across South America, accelerating our global expansion.
Q6. You mentioned earlier that personal data is not managed in the cloud or on a server. How does the system handle overall management and administrative oversight if the data is completely decentralized?
A. Since we do not store personal data on a cloud or server, people often ask how administration works. We manage the ecosystem strictly through the token’s hardware serial numbers. A separate layer is built entirely within our SPMS management platform to handle these audit trails and management configurations without touching personal identities.
Q7. Can you tell us more about your upcoming international roadmap and where your solutions will be launching next?
A. Right now, we are receiving partnership requests from a broad range of companies in the United States and in European countries including Spain, Italy, Switzerland, and Portugal. Most security tech firms in Korea tend to start locally, enter the Japanese market, and then gradually pursue global expansion. We took a somewhat different route. By participating multiple times in major international platforms such as CES and MWC, we proactively identified global partners. For example, a partner company that is based in Spain and operates parallel branches in Switzerland signed an MOU with us directly on-site at the MWC exhibition floor last March. They are actively promoting our solution across Europe, and we have been invited to present at their upcoming Partners’ Day in Switzerland this September.
Q8. What are your thoughts on Pangyo Techno Valley as an innovation hub for tech companies like ANDOPEN?
A. A few years ago, a Japanese buyer mentioned to me that Pangyo feels like a place where only geniuses gather. He was amazed at how many companies here are successfully commercializing advanced concepts. I strongly agree with that sentiment. The infrastructure, support agencies, and tech enterprises are tightly clustered here to foster rapid technology development. It offers a significant competitive edge over other regions. Furthermore, since the headquarters of South Korea’s leading IT giants are concentrated in the Pangyo and Bundang areas, it is geographically advantageous for recruiting top-tier technical talent.
Q9. What is the ultimate goal for ANDOPEN moving forward?
A. Our ultimate goal is to establish SnapPass as the global standard for secure identity and biometric access control. We are working to reach the global stage, and soon you will see our serverless authentication solutions deployed worldwide, returning data sovereignty to individual users.
Kim Seung Yeon
Gyeonggi Business & Science Accelerator
+82 31-776-4834
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