Strategic expansion follows partnership with Luxembourg’s INCERT to make Hopae Connect the first EU-registered intermediary unifying all European eIDs and digital wallets

Hopae, the global digital identity infrastructure company, today announced a €5 million investment plan over the next 24 months to strengthen its European presence as the market shifts from document-based to digital identity verification and eIDAS 2.0 approaches.
As part of this expansion, the company has appointed industry veteran Bertrand Bouteloup as GM Europe & CRO and opened its fourth office in Luxembourg.

Identity verification is shifting from document-based to digital ID 

Document-based verification is increasingly vulnerable to AI-fraud such as deepfakes and synthetic identities. For instance, fraud losses in the financial sector alone are expected to double by 2030, reaching $58B annually. This rising exposure is pushing businesses to move away from document checks and adopt high-assurance, government-backed digital ID (eID). Yet these eID systems remain highly fragmented, forcing companies to manage multiple integrations.

→ This fragmentation is the first reason why Hopae developed its global eID network, an intermediary platform that enables companies to easily connect to trusted eID schemes from all over the world. And EU regulation is intensifying the need to act now.

eIDAS 2.0 and the EUDI Wallet make this shift urgent

European citizens will begin accessing their EUDI Wallet in 2026, as Member States must offer wallets to citizens next year. Companies will therefore face early adopters before the 2027 deadline, when regulated businesses and Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs) must accept the EUDI Wallet. Companies that anticipate this shift early will gain a competitive advantage by offering faster, more trusted onboarding, and reduce exposure to AI-driven fraud.

→ This regulatory pressure is the second reason why Hopae expands in Europe. This investment will accelerate the development of its intermediary platform to help businesses meet the eIDAS 2.0 deadline and expand its EU coverage to get the most reliable service for enterprises.

Hopae appoints Bertrand Bouteloup as GM Europe & CRO to support its expansion in Europe

As part of its expansion, Hopae is reinforcing its leadership team with the appointment of an industry veteran, Bertrand Bouteloup, ex-Chief Commercial Officer at IDnow and formerly Global Head of Cybersecurity at Capgemini, who cumulates more than 25 years of experience in identity verification and cybersecurity, as their General Manager Europe and the global Chief Revenue Officer.

Commenting on his appointment Bertrand Bouteloup said: “I am delighted to join Hopae at such a pivotal moment. After many years in identity verification, it is clear the next era is digital identity. With the planned investment in Europe but also in the rest of the world, Hopae is building the infrastructures to make this shift real, supporting organizations to complement traditional KYC methods with secure eID and EUDI wallet-based verification, all of this being offered through one single API. The combination of both eIDs and wallet verification capabilities is quite unique on the market and will also provide answers to the forthcoming AML-R requirements.”

A strategic investment to support Europe’s digital identity transition

Over the next 12 months, Hopae will:

• Scale its European team and secure QTSP status to become EU-registered intermediary as well as QEEA issuer

• Expand its integration coverage across eIDs and Wallets (already 50+ covered, expected 100+ by Q2 2026)

• Establish its European Headquarters in Luxembourg, one of Europe’s most advanced hubs for cybersecurity, digital infrastructures and trust services.

“2026 will redefine the way people interact online, and Europe’s eIDAS 2.0 is driving that change at global scale. The market signals are clear: businesses are preparing now. Our investment in Europe is only the beginning, as we anticipate multiple additional investment rounds to meet the growing demand for secure, wallet-based digital identity.” said Ace Shim, CEO and Founder of Hopae.

This expansion supports Hopae’s mission to build the leading global digital identity network that allows anyone to instantly prove who they are anywhere, anytime while providing enterprises with:

• The best global coverage 100+ expected eIDs and wallets (including EUDI Wallets) by Q2 2026

• Compliance in one click, meeting eIDAS 1.0, eIDAS 2.0, AML, age verification requirements

• 10x faster onboarding from minutes, or hours, to 10-second user journey

• Reduce AI-fraud costs with instant revocation and authenticity checks, and complete traceability

• Issuance capabilities, enabling organizations to issue Verifiable Credentials (Hopae Seal) and Wallets (Hopae Wallet) to turn digital identity into a reusable and verifiable asset

About Hopae

Hopae is the digital identity infrastructure company that helps organizations anticipate and comply with new regulations such as eIDAS 2.0, while staying competitive. Its suite of solutions provides a trusted, sovereign, and scalable infrastructure for digital identity, enabling higher conversion rates for businesses, reducing fraud, and ensuring more secure and self-sovereign identities for citizens. The company operates globally with offices in Seoul, San Francisco, Paris, and Luxembourg.