Biometrics get AI market lift amid acquisitions, national ID ambitions
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# Biometrics get AI market lift amid acquisitions, national ID ambitions
Oct 18, 2025, 12:42 pm EDT | Chris Burt
Categories Biometrics News | Industry Analysis | Trade Notes
Biometrics prospects and valuations are being buoyed by AI and economic conditions, contributing to an environment that could see more acquisitions. A couple of noteworthy examples were among the most-read articles of the week on _Biometric Update_. National digital ID projects could provide more lift for biometrics and digital ID technology providers in the long run, and ambitions from Malaysia to Ethiopia and India to Bhutan show some breadth in those opportunities.
## The problem and the solution
World is pushing back on the Philippines’ data privacy authority’s order that Tools for Humanity cease and desist biometrics collection in the country, saying it represents a sudden change in interpreting the law after a full year of consultation. The company is appealing the order, saying it does not store, sell or purchase biometric data.
Meanwhile deepfakes and synthetic content from generative AI video app Sora, from World Co-founder Sam Altman’s better-known venture OpenAI, is flooding social media. World argues that 90 percent of online content will be made by AI a year from now, making the target market for its humanity verification technology very large.
## National ID ambitions
Malaysia intends to reach 15 million users for its national digital ID by the end of this year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced during a brief on the budget for 2026. The government is allocating millions of dollars to scale up both users and use cases for MyDigital ID, as well as a broader digital transformation.
Ethiopia is racing to issue its Fayda digital identity to 40 million more people by the end of the year with more registration centers and rural outreach beginning. The hope is to reach 63 million issued by the end of this year, on the way to its target of 90 million by 2027.
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