Dermot Desmond: Daon backer

Daon, the biometric identity company backed by billionaire investor Dermot Desmond, is part of a consortium that is favourite to win the contract to provide biometric verification data for a billion Indians. The consortium includes consultants Accenture and Indian company MindTree and submitted the lowest tender offer, according to the Economic Times.

Earlier this year Daon was awarded a contract by the Alabama Department of Human Resources to conduct criminal background checks on license supervisors of children, as well as parents who had adopted children, foster parents and employees in certain areas of the department.

In April it partnered with Unisys to win a personal identification contract from the Mexican government. Daon's software is being used to combine iris, finger and face records for maximum accuracy.