10 Takeaways From a Founder’s Story with Incode CEO Ricardo Amper
Incode CEO and founder Ricardo Amper sat down with Founder’s Story podcast host Daniel Robbins in April 2025 to talk about his journey as an entrepreneur, Incode’s beginnings, why biometric identification is a necessity, and how AI will impact decision-making and democracy in the future…
These are the key takeaways.
1. Biometric verification replaces a very outdated system
Identity documents were invented by the Ancient Egyptians thousands of years ago. In 2025, this method of identity verification hasn’t changed much, a lot of systems still rely on a piece of paper to know someone is who they say they are.
“Our job is to take this weak link and bring this technology into 2025” – Ricardo Amper
2. Choosing the right problem to solve —and the right people with whom to solve it— is the key to success
You have to choose the right problem to solve for your solution to be a success. “You see something that should exist but doesn’t exist,” says Incode CEO and founder Ricardo Amper. Be aware, your potential users might not even know that they are experiencing the problem you are trying to solve.
“I think founders have an inherent advantage, and potentially a disadvantage, which is the lack of knowledge. So when you go to an industry and you understand and you see something that should exist, but doesn’t exist, it’s much easier to see it if you don’t have that context.” – Ricardo Amper
3. In the beginning, few believed that AI would be able to outperform real human reviewers at detecting fraudsters
When Incode started, people didn’t think it was possible for AI to outperform real human reviewers at detecting fake identities and tampered documents. The Incode team had to use their skills to prove them wrong.
“We built an amazing team of engineers. We were solving things in a way that nobody else was, such as using AI on phones before it was a thing. We’ve been doing AI for 10 years with the conviction that there are certain problems in the world that AI will solve a lot better than humans can. ” – Ricardo Amper
4. Timing is everything… even though you can’t control it
Incode grew exponentially in response to three key events:
- Apple began using facial recognition when it released the iPhone X, in November 2017. This changed society’s perception of this technology. Having such a huge brand advocate for facial recognition technology helped the global population feel comfortable with using it, and this impacted our business.
- The need for biometric identify verification became essential during the COVID-19 pandemic. Banks, governments, and healthcare services needed a way to be able to verify people digitally, remotely, and securely.
- The GenAI revolution has forever changed the fraud landscape, industrializing attacks. As GenAI evolves and fraud tactics become harder to detect, the identify verification industry becomes more and more important.
5. Real-world cases are confirming that identity fraud is a top-of-mind concern and biometric identity verification is a necessity
As mentioned in point 3 above, the GenAI revolution is fueling a surge in fraud, as bad actors exploit advanced tools to create more convincing scams and synthetic identities at scale. We are seeing this reflected in global headlines reporting on real-world large-scale cases of fraud.
In March 2025, Forbes reported that MGM had paid a settlement of $45 million following a 2023 ransomware attack on 30 MGM resorts that compromised the personal information of 37 million people and caused 9 days of chaos, affecting key cards, slot machines, ATMs, and check-in systems.
This stolen data then turned up on the Dark Web site of the ALPHAHV/Black Cat ransomware group in mid-September 2023 and included full names, home addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and dates of birth. Some people also had their passport numbers, Social Security numbers and driver’s license numbers leaked.
“I mean, that’s a real story. And the interesting thing is that it happened a year and a half ago to us. Our treasurer was almost tricked into sending money to fund the escrow account for EMEA, and it was very credible. Then we started seeing a lot of our customers being attacked with deepfakes.” – Ricardo Amper
In April 2025, CNBC reported that companies are facing a new threat. Fake candidates are using AI tools to fabricate photo IDs, generate employment histories, and provide answers during interviews to apply for jobs and gain access to systems. The rise of AI-generated profiles means that by 2028, 1 in 4 job candidates will be fake, globally, according to research and advisory firm Gartner.
The only way to stop the ever-growing threat of ever-evolving AI-powered fraud is with ever-evolving AI-powered solutions.
6. Beyond fraud prevention, Incode helps companies to grow
We protect business against fraud but, most importantly, Incode also helps those businesses to grow. We help them acquire real customers that are good for their business.
7. Biometric identity verification safeguards trust
Secure identity verification has “a societal effect.” It helps people to trust each other so that they can carry out essential transactions. This changes people’s lives because it causes interest rates to go down, people trust voting systems more, people can go to stadiums and feel safer, etc.
“It is a big deal. We think both the responsibility we have to our customers, but also the responsibility to our mission, which is the most important.” – Ricardo Amper
8. Industry recognition and customer trust mean a lot
Incode is thrilled to have been named a Leader in the 2024 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Identity Verification —the first time that Gartner has released a Magic Quadrant specifically focused on identity verification, signaling a major shift in how critical this technology has become for businesses of all sizes.
“It’s great to get that recognition. Then, there’s the recognition we get from our customers, like Citibank, Chime, and Amazon, and their trust. We’re one of the few providers to have participated in a national US election. We feel a huge sense of responsibility because, if we do our job well, which is verifying users’ identity, we help lower fraud.” – Ricardo Amper
9. The future of AI and the need for collaboration
The future of AI? Both the good and the bad will grow at an exponential rate. While businesses grow and productivity increases thanks to the evolution of AI, fraudsters will also become more prevalent. Agentic AI will do lots of things on your behalf while also multiplying what fraudsters do.
“There will be so much fraud in the next three years that the world will have to come together and collaborate. It doesn’t matter how good your AI is, you have to talk to each other. Governments and private companies have massive amounts of data. DMVs have photos and your personal information. Then private companies also have data. If only talk to each other they can say, ‘Hey, look, Daniel with this type of device and IP address is genuine. If just companies talked to each other, this problem would be solved. We’re building a massive interconnected network that will make if very difficult for fraudsters to succeed.” – Ricardo Amper
10. How AI will impact decision-making and democracy
AI is going to have a massive impact on how we make decisions, whether it’s on the school board, or the way you choose a president. AI is going to have a huge impact on voting and democracy.
“We’re seeing now how important it is for people to participate in elections, which requires trusted methods. I think voting will be digital all around the world in 10 years, no longer physical, no more paper. But not only that, I think you will be able to vote on matters at a very fast speed. You’re going to be able to do it cheaper than ever.” – Ricardo Amper
“We were hired by the state of Nevada to re-verify votes that were contested. We were afraid. My board was against it, thinking Trump would tweet against Incode. We did it anyway, we knew it was important. Both secretaries of state, Republican and Democratic, were incredibly happy with the fact that there was a much better technology than paper that would instill trust in the process in Nevada. Two elections ago, Nevada determined the composition of the House. It blows my mind that we could have such an impact.” – Ricardo Amper
Listen to Ricardo’s episode of Founder’s Story, “AI Scams Are Ruining Lives – Now We’re Fighting Back”.