GOP megadonor becomes new Clearview AI co-CEO

Clearview AI, which sells controversial facial recognition technology, has reportedly replaced its former CEO with two chief executives, one of whom is a GOP megadonor and fundraiser for President Donald Trump.

The facial recognition company is known for its searchable database allowing law enforcement, federal agencies and other customers to access 30 billion faces it has scraped from the internet.

Hoan Ton-That has been succeeded by Hal Lambert and Richard Schwartz. The new co-CEOs have strong ties to the Republican party and say they seek to bolster the company's federal contracts.

Lambert told Forbes that he is already engaged with the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and other federal agencies about beefing up their work with Clearview.

“There’s some opportunities there. I’m going to be helping with that effort,” Lambert told Forbes.

Ton-That struggled to win federal business, Forbes reported, and Clearview AI still does not turn a profit.

Lambert is well-positioned to help Clearview win more federal business. He served on Trump’s Inaugural Committee, and his investing company offers what it brands as a “MAGA” fund allowing clients to “invest in companies that align with your Republican political beliefs.”

Schwartz was a senior adviser to Rudy Giuliani when he was the mayor of New York.

Clearview’s current $1.1 million contract with DHS expires in September, according to USA Spending, which tracks federal contracts. A separate $2.3 million contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement ended last year.

The company also has a $335,000 contract with the FBI that ends this month. Clearview has had no other significant contracts with federal agencies since its founding, USA Spending data shows.

Most of Clearview’s existing American contracts are with state and local law enforcement.

The facial recognition technology firm has been sued repeatedly because it feeds its database individuals’ photos without their permission.

Last June, a cash-strapped Clearview settled a class action lawsuit brought on privacy grounds by agreeing to give Americans whose faces it stores a collective 23% stake in the company instead of financial damages. Anyone whose face is available on the internet could technically be considered a class member.

Clearview also has been collectively fined more than $100 million by several data protection authorities in Europe.