Exclusive: Reveal wants to shake up decades of military biometrics

Colin Demarest

Illustration of fingerprint pattern with several grouped together — Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

Reveal Technology is eyeing U.S. Army and Marine Corps biometrics programs as it rolls out its handheld Identifi system to hundreds of special operators.

Why it matters: Military biometrics is ripe for disruption, according to CEO Garrett Smith.

"When I started in the Marine Corps, there was a technology that we deployed with to Afghanistan," he said. "That is, essentially, the same technology that's been in place for like 20 years."

Driving the news: Identifi was recently adopted as a Special Operations Command program of record. Initial fielding is underway.

How it works: Identifi combines an Android application and a peripheral known as IDsled. It's used to collect information about a person or verify who they are.

Fingerprints, irises and vocal patterns can help troops find the right person in a crowd — a needle in a haystack — or distinguish real from imposter.

What's next: The number of Identifi users could soon double. Wider deployment is planned through fiscal 2026.

"SOCOM is often seen as the trendsetter amongst all biometrics programs across not only the United States military," Smith said, "but also the intelligence community and also many of our partner forces."

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Exclusive: Reveal wants to shake up decades of military biometrics

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