Openpath

Openpath (legally Openpath Security Inc.) developed hardware and software for physical access control, combining door readers, controllers, intercoms and modular boards with cloud-based management software. Its system let users unlock authorized doors with a mobile phone or smartwatch using a hand wave, without needing to open the phone or the app, and also supported PIN codes, QR codes, encrypted key cards and fobs. The platform covered doors as well as gates, elevators, turnstiles, parking lots and lobby check-ins, and offered remote credential issuance and revocation, mobile-initiated lockdowns, guest passes, tailgating detection, two-factor authentication and end-to-end encryption. Integrations extended to video surveillance, identity providers and visitor management, plus APIs and webhooks for custom connections.

The company's core technical claim was patented "Triple Unlock" technology: a reader establishes a handshake with a phone using cellular, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth signals, selecting one and discarding the others to evaluate credentials, which the company said delivered 99.9% reliability. During the COVID-19 period Openpath emphasized touchless entry and building-safety features such as suspending credentials when a health attestation was failed, occupancy limits, capacity management and contact tracing.

Following the July 2021 acquisition by Motorola Solutions, Openpath continued to sell keyless access control systems as a Motorola subsidiary. The platform was subsequently rebranded Avigilon Alta Access within the Avigilon portfolio, retaining the same cloud architecture, mobile credential technology and management dashboard; previously installed Openpath controllers and readers remain supported and receive cloud software updates, though some original hardware has been succeeded by newer equivalents.

Founding story

Segil and Kazerani identified keycards as an outdated and insecure credential: administratively costly to print, issue and revoke, physically wasteful, and reliant on decades-old RFID that can be cheaply cloned. They responded by patenting a multi-signal mobile unlock approach that uses the smartphone as the credential.

Business model

Openpath charged an upfront fee for hardware and installation, followed by a recurring subscription fee for its cloud-enabled software, with pricing based on the number of doors and number of users. It combined proprietary hardware (readers, controllers, boards, power supply units) with cloud-managed software and third-party integrations.

Hardware and installation fees plus recurring cloud software subscriptions priced by door count and user count.

Traction

After initial 2018 funding, Openpath grew to help customers manage nearly 2,000 offices with hundreds of thousands of employees. The current Avigilon-branded site states the access control solutions are used by more than 100,000 organizations globally, with published case studies from a school district, SSM Health, Erin Living Technologies and Domino's.

Latest developments

Following the Motorola Solutions acquisition, the Openpath platform operates as Avigilon Alta Cloud Access within Motorola Solutions' Avigilon portfolio, alongside Avigilon Unity On-Premise Access; existing Openpath field hardware continues to be supported and updated, and the openpath.com domain now presents Avigilon-branded access control products.