A Decade of Mobile Keys: Celebrating 10 Years of Tapkey

Can you believe it? Tapkey has been making access easier for 10 years now! What started with fumbling for keys in our pockets is now just a tap away, thanks to our founders’ vision in 2014. Join us as we celebrate a decade of innovation and have a look at how we became a leader in mobile access solutions—from day one to today!

The Beginning: The Spark of an Idea

Back in the early 2010s, mobile technology was booming, and yet… we were still relying on traditional keys. Tapkey’s founders, Markus Minichmayr, Gregor Zehetner, Jochen Schurich, and Gilbert Hoedl, saw a real chance to make people’s lives a lot easier. Born out of their own frustration with bulky keychains, tedious key handovers and being locked out too many times, they started tinkering. But much more: Managing office access for up to 40 people in constantly shifting teams had become a hassle, with lost keys being a constant problem.

“The grand vision from the start was that every person in the world should be able to open doors—any door—using a mobile key on their phone.”, Gregor Zehetner remembers.

Driven by this personal experience, they set out to create a mobile-first solution for securing everything from office spaces to homes and even vehicles. Fast-forward to today, and we’re a key player in the industry (pun intended).

From Idea to Innovation: Key Milestones

Tapkey’s journey from a simple idea to a driving force in smart access control is a wild ride of innovation and partnerships. It all began in 2015 when the first version of the Tapkey App was launched, allowing users to unlock doors with just their smartphones. Seeing it work on real doors was a game-changing moment for our founders. 

As Jochen Schurich puts it, “The first time our products started appearing on doors ‘in the wild’ was a huge milestone. Tapkey wasn’t just a concept any more, it became something tangible, something people could actually use.”

That early success opened the door to partnerships with big names like DOM Security and WITTE Automotive who believed and invested in the growth of Tapkey. These collaborations enabled Tapkey’s technology to seamlessly integrate into existing hardware, pushing mobile access solutions further into the mainstream. Our best-selling product made in Europe, the Tapkey Smart Lock, was launched.

As we kept growing, the industry took notice. Media started calling us pioneers, and Tapkey went from being a mobile app to a full-on, cloud-based system with a Web API and Mobile SDK—making it super easy for businesses to plug smart access into their workflows. 

But we didn’t stop there. Tapkey went global, teaming up with industry leaders like Tokai Rika in Japan, solidifying our place on the world stage. And then a game-changing milestone was achieved in 2022—our long-time partner, DOM Security, became more than just a collaborator. They believed in Tapkey so much, they became shareholders. This strategic move really leveraged the capabilities of our tech stack and the digital expertise of the whole Tapkey team helping a leading European group in the security industry to shape the smart access market.

Today: Driving Change in Smart Access

Today, Tapkey is celebrating a decade of success. Whether it’s making coworking spaces run smoother with our plethora of add-ons for their management tools. Or helping businesses secure their spaces with ease, we’ve proven that mobile access is the future—and it’s here to stay. Our tech is powering tens of thousands of smart locks worldwide, and we’ve become the go-to solution for businesses looking to modernise access control.

But it’s not just about the technology—it’s about how we work, too. Since we started in 2014, our mission has always been to create a better, more connected world. And over time, our values have evolved to match that vision. We’re problem solvers, we thrive on collaboration, and we always work smart to bring reliable solutions to our partners and customers. That’s who we are and what keeps us moving forward.

Looking Ahead: What’s Next?

Well, we’ve got big plans! As we move into our second decade, there’s no slowing down. With trends pointing toward even smarter, more interconnected systems, you can bet Tapkey will continue to lead the way. 

“I believe connectivity will be key moving forward—not just for Tapkey but for the entire industry. It’s not just about mobile keys any more, but about how we enable businesses to create new business models around access control.”, muses Markus Minichmayr.

From new add-ons, and exciting product launches to even more tightly integrated systems, we’re excited to see where the next 10 years will take us.

Cheers to a decade of making life simpler, more secure, and, most importantly, key-less!