Self completes $9M seed round, introduces points scheme for verification

Self, which provides zero-knowledge identity and proof-of-personhood (PoP) infrastructure, has announced the completion of a nine-million-dollar seed raise earlier this year. According to a release, participants include Greenfield Capital, Startup Capital Ventures x SBI Fund (Softbank), Spearhead VC, Verda Ventures, Fireweed Ventures, Casey Neistat, Sreeram Kannan (EigenLayer), Sandeep Nailwal (Polygon), Julien Bouteloup (Curve), Jill Carlson (Espresso), and Hart Lambur (Across Protocol).

Self was founded by former members of blockchain firm Celo, after they acquired zero- knowledge proof (ZKP) project OpenPassport. The Delaware-based firm’s marquee clients include Google Cloud, Velodrome and Aave. In September, it added support for India’s Aadhaar digital identity system to its platform, enabling remote user onboarding by 99 percent of Indian adults through the company’s Self Pass – its protocol’s equivalent to a World ID.

Self enables users to verify their identity by scanning biometric passports or IDs with NFC technology. Leveraging ZKPs and verifiable credentials, the protocol applies to use cases ranging from sybil-resistant token distributions to OFAC sanctions compliance and privacy-preserving age verification. Selective data sharing ensures maximum privacy.

“Self was born out of the need for secure, privacy-preserving humanity and identity verification, and the growing adoption of our infrastructure validates that ZK-powered solutions are the answer,” says Eric Nakagawa, CEO of Self. “We’re proud that our mission resonates with the best companies in the industry, and appreciative of their support in scaling Self to power the future of the internet.”

Self is also introducing a points scheme for its app that “rewards consistent usage.” Users will earn points when they “securely verify their humanity and identity by setting up their Self Pass, and their continued usage across partner platforms will result in additional rewards.”

Article Topics

blockchain  |  digital identity  |  funding  |  proof of personhood  |  Self Labs  |  zero knowledge