Inaugural Age Assurance Industry Awards crown winners at gala

The age assurance industry has its Oscars. In a posh ceremony hosted by BBC presenter Charlie Stayt, the first-ever Age Assurance Industry Awards recognized organizations and individuals changing the face of the sector, and creating the path for its continued evolution.

(Full disclosure: the author was on the three-person judging panel.)

The lifetime achievement award went to Yoti CEO Robin Tombs, who reflected on more than a decade of work to make the UK provider one of the most recognizable and trusted names in the industry. Yoti also got a nod for its facial age estimation integration with social discovery app Yubo, which took the award for best implementation of age assurance in a digital platform. Noted for building age bands into its model from the ground up, the company now stands as a benchmark for privacy-by-design in social platforms.

The award recognizing best research or academic contribution to age assurance went to Spanish data protection agency Agencia Española de Protección de Datos (AEPD).

The award celebrating excellence in cross-sector communication went to the Age Verification Providers Association (AVPA), with CEO Alistair Graham taking the stage to recognize the work of executive director Ian Corby. Corby is a familiar face and voice across the sector, from boardrooms to courtrooms; child safety expert John Carr, who chaired the summit’s main stage this year, calls Corby “undoubtedly one of the world’s greatest living experts on age assurance.”

For the work of making (and enforcing) the rules, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office picked up the award for outstanding contribution to age assurance policy and regulation. Australia eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant was also highly commended.

Hand gestures, vape solutions point to bright future

While industry veterans took home plenty of hardware, the more novel side of the industry also took the spotlight for a slate of awards. The prize for innovation in age assurance technology went to BorderAge, French company Needemand’s age estimation system based on hand gestures. The company has been active at the summit, introducing its tech to major players in the social media, gaming and age-restricted content sectors. Highly commended runner-up was IKE Tech LLC, the company that embeds age assurance into e-cigarettes and vapes. IKE Tech also scored a win for privacy-centric age assurance solution of the year.

The Open Age Initiative, which launched its reusable, passkey-based AgeKey system to much fanfare in 2025, was named the rising star in age assurance. Jannis Aaron Rosendahl, Managing Director at Senvend, received an honorable mention.

The awards find a sector celebrating its emergence into the mainstream, while battling to secure its future. One one side, it faces pressure from government-driven age assurance tools like the European Commission’s newly launched white label age verification app. On the other looms Big Tech, whose market dominance threatens to choke out smaller wallet providers.

Regardless, with a published standard and significant regulatory momentum, the age assurance industry stands poised to continue growing, innovating and working toward an internet that is safer for the world’s children.

Article Topics

Age Assurance Standards Summit (2026)  |  age verification  |  biometric age estimation  |  biometrics