Hopae, a Korean provider of digital identity solutions, announced on the 29th that it has secured 6 billion KRW (approximately 4.5 million USD) in seed funding.

SV Investment led the seed investment round, with participation from Japan’s Z Venture Capital and Bon Angels Venture Partners. Notably, Bon Angels Venture Partners participated consecutively in both the pre-seed and seed rounds.

Decentralized Identity (DID) technology is a third-generation digital identity technology that addresses privacy concerns of traditional centralized identity models while offering tamper-proof security. After being designated as a web standard in July 2022, it has gained significant attention from governments worldwide. 

The potential of the digital identity market is immense, especially with the EU’s eIDAS 2.0 regulation that came into effect in May this year. The regulation mandates all EU member states to provide citizens with digital identity wallets by 2026, and has allocated 180 billion KRW (120 million euros) to six pilot projects over the past two years. 

Global market research firm Gartner forecasts that by 2026, at least 500 million smartphone users will verify their identities using digital wallets based on distributed ledger technology. Gartner has named Hopae as a leading supplier alongside Microsoft, IBM, and Thales.

DID technology is expected to bring various changes in everyday life. It will simplify processes like opening bank accounts or boarding flights, eliminating the need for complex identity verification procedures. Users can securely manage sensitive personal information such as medical records and academic credentials and selectively share it with only those who need it, enhancing both privacy and convenience. 

DID technology is also gaining attention as a next-generation identity verification solution that is secure against cyberattacks using deepfakes, a form of AI-generated media.

Hopae is a startup founded in 2022 by key developers, including Jae-hoon Shim, the former overall director of the Korean COVID-19 vaccination certificate service COOV. The team has proven its technological capabilities through the successful development and operation of a nationwide system during the pandemic. 

Since its founding, Hopae has been building digital identity and authentication systems based on its proprietary technology, “Digital Credential eXpress (DCX)”. Recognized for its outstanding technology through continuous open-source activities, Hopae currently serves as a member of the Technical Advisory Council (TAC) of the OpenWallet Foundation (OWF), which was established by the Linux Foundation along with global payment and authentication companies such as Visa and Mastercard. The TAC is leading the standardization of DID open-source technology.

Il-yong Choi, senior team leader at SV Investment, said, “Hopae has both expertise in DID technology and experience in operating a nationwide DID service. The open-source code created by Hopae has been downloaded over 1.3 million times globally and is being actively used in various DID services.” He added, “Looking at the multiple business projects that Hopae is currently collaborating on with various European institutions, we believe that within the next two to three years, we will naturally use digital identity verification services in both online and offline environments. All players who want to provide DID services will be using Hopae’s technology, whether they know it or not.”

Jae-hoon Shim, CEO of Hopae, said, “The digital identity market has enormous potential, with the European market alone estimated to be worth 600 trillion won. Hopae’s outstanding open-source technology has been a key factor in opening up the conservative European market. Therefore, we plan to actively recruit world-class developers and talent who can establish global business and strategies.”