Why Clearview AI is building a database of 100 billion facial images

Clearview AI is on track to build a database with 100 billion facial images by the end of this year. According to a facial recognition platform’s financial presentation accessed by The Washington Post, the database can make ‘everyone in the world identifiable.’ On average, Clearview adds close to 1.5 billion images to its database every month. 

Clearview’s platform is currently used by law enforcement agencies for surveillance purposes, and the company wants to extend its application to monitor gig economy workers. Clearview is also developing technologies to identify people based on their gait, detect their location from the photo, and obtain fingerprint data from a distance. Clearview is seeking USD 50 million to advance their plans.

Hoan Ton-That, the founder of Clearview, said the presentation was part of a proposal for alternate revenue streams and was shared with “a small group of individuals who expressed an interest in the company.” The presentation mentioned Uber, Lyft and Airbnb as potential clients. However, the spokespersons for these companies denied expressing interest in Clearview.

Government and defence contracts are a small part of Clearview’s future roadmap. Banking, retail and e-commerce is a big part of its potential “total addressable market”. He said Clearview's products are not designed for commercial buyers. The company has to take permission from a federal court in Illinois before it approaches any nongovernmental buyers. 

“Our principles reflect the current uses of our technology. If those uses change, the principles will be updated, as needed,” said Ton-That.