Clear Secure

Clear Secure, Inc. (operating as: CLEAR) is an American technology company that operates biometric travel document verification system at major United States airports and stadiums.

History

Origin and founders

Steven Brill and Ajay Amlani were original owners of Verified Identity Pass, but Ajay Amlani left the company in 2006 to pursue another identity technology company named YOU Technology. Steven Brill was running CLEAR at the time. After stepping away from the company in 2008 Steven Brill gave an announcement to the customers regarding CLEAR and their future “I am deeply saddened for Clear’s dedicated staff and loyal customers that the company has ceased operations”. The email was sent out to all employees and customers of CLEAR.

2010s

Caryn Seidman-Becker took over Clear in 2010 with her partner and co-founder Ken Cornick. Caryn Seidman-Becker ultimately oversees everything that is being done in the company such as the overall approach the company takes, marketing, and business development. Clear operates out of its headquarters in Manhattan, New York. Clear began to work under the larger company of Alclear.

Caryn Seidman-Becker and Ken Cornick saw Clear as a promising business to pursue based on the fact that they believed the market for surveillance and security would rise due to the catastrophic events that happened on 9/11.

In 2021, Clear went public as Clear Secure, Inc. on the NYSE with the ticker symbol ‘YOU’.

Corporate affairs

Patents

The company has received patents for “physical token-less security screening using biometrics”, which allows a person to be identified using their individual and distinctive biometric identity that the company creates. The company has been successful in filing and receiving several patents throughout the years. On February 4, 2020, the company was granted the ability to ticket people through their biometric identities. Prior to this patent, the company was also granted two patents on January 14, 2020, to conduct pre-identification before an individual approached the stationed device and to use individual biometric identities to expedite interactions with people in the close vicinity. To simplify and expedite the process even further, on December 31, 2019, the company was granted a patent to use mobile devices in enrolling into the system.

Clear has partnerships with the European company Oberthur Technologies. Oberthur provides Clear with identification cards encoded with information that is beyond a normal ID card. They follow the federal standards for Personal Identity Verification (PIV).

Anti-terrorism

In June 2012, CLEAR received certification under the SAFETY Act (Support Anti-Terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies Act of 2002) by the United States Department of Homeland Security.

Marketing and collaborations

Clear has partnerships with Airlines and Stadiums. The airline currently partners with Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and Alaska Airlines. This includes partnerships with Major League Baseball and National Football League.
Clear has also partnered with Lyft which grants people a 3-month free trial to test out Clear and gives them a $20 voucher for Lyft customers to use towards a trip to any airport.

Clear had a former partnership with car rental company Hertz, until the company declared bankrupt.

Revenue

The company charges its customers $189 per year for a premium program named CLEAR Plus, however, it can be lowered if the user is a member of Delta SkyMiles®, United MileagePlus®, or holds an American Express Centurion, Platinum, or Green Card. This membership allows them to skip past long lines, no matter if they are at a stadium, an arena, or an airport. By expanding and diversifying their locations, CLEAR also receives additional revenue from sports teams, who pay licensing fees.

Awards

In June 2019, Clear CEO Caryn Seidman-Becker and President Ken Cornick were given the 2019 EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Award for the New York Region.

References

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Security companies of the United States
Technology companies established in 2010