Dapple Security

Dapple Security is a digital identity and cybersecurity company building a passwordless authentication platform based on what it calls responsible biometrics and privacy-by-design principles. Its product lets employees replace passwords with a passkey derived from a user's biometrics, such as a fingerprint, face or voice, and is marketed as phishing-resistant multi-factor authentication and as a software alternative to hardware security keys.

The company's approach generates revocable, reproducible digital credentials in which neither the biometric nor the passkey is stored; instead the credential is reproduced on demand. Rather than keeping biometric data locally on each device, Dapple stores a non-sensitive digital "lock" in the cloud, which allows a single passkey to be used across multiple devices without creating a new key for each device or syncing sensitive keys. Because sensitive identity data is not stored, the company says it reduces the data attack surface and prevents phishing and related attacks that rely on stolen credentials.

Dapple targets small and mid-sized businesses, a segment its founder describes as often overlooked and highly exposed to attacks because of limited access to affordable, easy-to-adopt cybersecurity infrastructure, while stating that it provides enterprise-grade security products to businesses of all sizes.

Founding story

Founder and CEO Gadalia Montoya Weinberg O'Bryan served as a crypto mathematician at the National Security Agency from 2005 to 2013, where work on cryptography and biometrics informed the concept behind the company; she later worked at data security company Koverse. She founded Dapple in 2022, motivated by the risks arising from passwords being shared or stolen and the need to translate physical identities into digital identities that cannot be easily stolen, and recruited former Koverse colleague Keith Bucher as co-founder and CTO.

Business model

Dapple Security develops and sells software-based passwordless authentication products to businesses, positioning phishing-resistant MFA and software passkeys as an alternative to hardware security keys. The company states it does not charge a premium for security or privacy features, and describes a channel-first approach to distributing its software passkeys.

The company sells security software to businesses and states it will never charge a premium for security or privacy features within its products.

Traction

Dapple raised $2.3 million in pre-seed capital announced in January and February 2024, completed the Techstars Boulder program in summer 2023, joined the FIDO Alliance in 2023, and was listed by CSO Online as a startup to watch in 2023. Employee count is reported at 1-10.

Latest developments

Following its $2.3 million pre-seed announcement in early 2024, Dapple said funding would support a 2024 launch focused on small and mid-sized businesses, with beta testing of its passkey expected by summer 2024 and commercial launch in the fall. The company's site markets phishing-resistant MFA, software passkeys and business sign-up, and the founder appeared on the State of Identity podcast to discuss the company's passkey approach to passwordless authentication.