EyeVerify explains why it changed name to Zoloz

More than two months after revealing a curious name change, EyeVerify is offering details behind its evolution to become “Zoloz.”

The fast-growing biometrics tech firm announced in August that it was rebranding as Zoloz, but initially offered little information about the reason for or meaning behind the name change. Headquartered in downtown Kansas City, a Zoloz spokeswoman recently cleared up lingering questions on the switch, saying “Zoloz” better reflects the firm’s strategy, which is broadening from just offering a biometric security tool analyzing one’s eye, said Tinna Hung, director of market strategy.

The expanded strategy of Zoloz’ hosted identity platform, Hung said, aims to answer a simple question: Who are you?

“Across the world, we are collectively asked “Who are you?” millions of times a day, if not billions. We’ve launched Zoloz to help people answer that question in the online world any place, anytime,” Hung said. “Our goal is to make it simple to be known, trusted and safe in the digital world.”

For those unfamiliar with the technology, EyeVerify created the “EyePrint ID,” which transforms a selfie of a user’s eye into a biometric security key. It’s used by millions of people across the globe to access mobile banking or other secure information.

In September 2016, Ant Financial —  the payments affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding — purchased EyeVerify for more than $100 million. The deal is one of the metro’s most notable exits in the past decade.

In addition to representing a combination of biometrics expertise from the Ant family, Hung said the name and branding change is evocative of the firm’s tech. Zoloz is a palindrome — a word that reads the same backward as forward — which communicates that one’s digital identity mirrors your offline identity, Hung said.

“The logo invokes a face, referencing both that our identities are personal, and that we are using biometrics, including face recognition, to verify identity,” she said.

Zoloz is now on a campaign to expand its footprint throughout Asia — in particular China. With a goal to quadruple its user base from 450 million to 2 billion people, Zoloz is already offering its tech to such Ant Financial companies as Alipay, MyBank and Zhima Credit.

Founded in 2012 as EyeVerify, Zoloz has more than doubled its staff headcount in the last year. The firm now has more than 120 employees across its Kansas City, San Francisco, Beijing and Singapore offices.