Hard Yaka is thrilled to announce a new partnership with the Sovrin Foundation, an initiative that will help further our collective mission for bringing self-sovereign identity (SSI) to the masses.
Together, we’re launching an incubator “to provide early-stage companies with technology guidance, business development expertise, and funding to advance self-sovereign identity (SSI) as a solution to the longstanding, inter-related problems of identity verification and privacy on the Internet.”
You can read more about Hard Yaka founder Greg Kidd’s vision of the future of identity and value exchange here.
At Hard Yaka and globaliD, we’ve always believed that the best way to accelerate SSI adoption is through collaboration and innovation. And in the Sovrin Foundation, the governing body of the Sovrin Network, we have the perfect partner to help foster that vision.
From the press release:
The Self-Sovereign Identity Incubator is dedicated to growing a robust, technology-agnostic SSI ecosystem. This specialized program will integrate participants into a global community of SSI- leading companies. Selected companies will build proof-of-concept and business models with help from world’s leading SSI technologists and business executives and by using the tools and technology that best meets their specific needs. After working for three months in the heart of San Francisco at a Market Street hub for innovative tech companies, participants will graduate with a working technical demonstration of their solution, a business pitch presentation of their company, and a greatly expanded expert network.
Heather Dahl, CEO of the nonprofit Sovrin Foundation:
“Self-sovereign identity gives individuals control of their online identities in the same way as they control their identity in the physical world. Sovrin has seen the rapid adoption of SSI by global enterprises in the past year because the technology is a powerful, flexible, and elegant solution to the complex and persistent problem of identity online. With the SSI Incubator, we are able to nurture the kind of disruption and innovation that early-stage companies can deliver and support them as they transform industries and markets and institutions.”
Greg Kidd, founder of Hard Yaka, co-founder and CEO of globaliD:
“Hard Yaka is excited to work with Sovrin Foundation to create a world-leading program for startups in the self-sovereign identity (SSI) space. Hard Yaka’s investment portfolio already focuses on the identity solutions necessary to take the potential of blockchain and the digital transformation of all permission-based activity from the university labs to mainstream. Hard Yaka will back its commitment to SSI with investment funds for startups accepted into the Incubator for Self-Sovereign Identity program.”
Check out the full press release here
How to apply:
If you’re interested in applying or know someone who is, the first cohort of the Self-Sovereign Identity Incubator will begin on Monday, September 9, 2019.
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the deadline at 11:59 PM, Wednesday, July 31, 2019.
Selected companies will be notified on August 12, 2019.
For more info or to apply, go to: https://ssiincubator.com
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About the Sovrin Foundation:
The Sovrin Foundation is a nonprofit organization established to administer the Governance Framework governing the Sovrin Network, a decentralized global public network enabling self- sovereign identity on the internet. The Sovrin Network is an open source project operated by independent Stewards and uses the power of a distributed ledger to give every person, organization, and thing the ability to own and control their own permanent digital identity.
About Hard Yaka:
Hard Yaka is an investment firm focused on digital identity, payments, and marketplaces founded by Greg Kidd, an initial investor and advisor for both Twitter and Square. Hard Yaka has investments in over 90 companies including Ripple, Coinbase, Robinhood, Dwolla, and globaliD, where Greg is the co-founder and CEO.
