Our Mission

Our mission is to provide individuals with a secure digital identity that provides control of their credentials and enables service providers to use it with consent to fight identity fraud.

Our Story

After having conversations with industry leading CISOs, former members of the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security, 1Kosmos’ founders realized the notion of knowing who is on the other side of a digital connection was disjointed and weak. Leveraging decades of experience and coming from successful cyber security ventures, the team sought to fill a gap in the market by creating a one-of-a-kind solution that ensures a user is always who they say they are.

BlockID is the only solution that combines indisputable digital identity proofing with advanced biometrics and passwordless authentication, while storing user data encrypted in a private, permissioned blockchain. With clients including Hitachi and RSA Security, 1Kosmos’ BlockID products—BlockID Verify, BlockID Workforce and BlockID Customer—deliver unmatched security for enterprises and individuals.

Our Values

At 1Kosmos, the core values that unite us revolve around leadership, collaboration, accountability, passion and diversity. Together, we are committed to sharing the very best of our own selves, so BlockID can continue to disrupt the world of cyber security and change the way we interact with systems and applications. If you relate to our core values, join us in our journey to make an impact in the security and tech space.

At 1Kosmos, the core values that unite us revolve around leadership, collaboration, accountability, passion and diversity.

Together, we are committed to sharing the very best of our own selves, so BlockID can continue to disrupt the world of cyber security and change the way we interact with systems and applications. If you relate to our core values, join us in our journey to make an impact in the security and tech space.

Leadership

Proven leaders with the mission to provide individuals secure digital identity controls and service providers powerful solutions to fight identity fraud while simplifying the user experience.

Hemen Vimadalal

Founder and CEO
Hemen is the visionary founder of 1Kosmos. He saw the need for an identity-first approach to authentication and a way to simplify the user experience. Prior to 1Kosmos, Hemen founded Simeio Solutions and Vaau, both of which had very successful exits. He is now an active investor in the cyber security space invested in companies including Securonix, Saviynt, BrinQa, and Simeio, among others.

Rohan Pinto

Co-Founder and CTO
Rohan is the co-founder of 1Kosmos. He is a go-to security and identity management expert and the founder of several businesses that have made considerable advancements in blockchain and identity management.

Mike Engle

Co-Founder and CSO
Mike is a proven information technology executive, company builder, and entrepreneur. He is an expert in information security, business development, and product design/development. His career includes the head of information security at Lehman Brothers and co-founder of Bastille Networks.

Huzefa Olia

Co-Founder and COO
Huzefa is a leader in Identity & Access Management with twenty years of experience in running various roles across multiple software organizations. Prior to joining 1Kosmos, Huzefa led the North East and Mid - Atlantic region for Simeio, where he was responsible for managing the entire P&L of the region. He was also part of Brinqa and Vaau where he was responsible for sales and business development.

Jens Hinrichsen

SVP, North American Sales
Jens is a career business growth leader, having held a variety of sales and marketing roles across the cyber security, fraud, and digital user experience space, most notably NuData Security (acquired by Mastercard), Versafe (acquired by F5), and RSA/Cyota.

Michael Cichon

CMO
Michael is a Silicon Valley veteran with over two decades of experience marketing B2B SaaS solutions for startups and publicly traded companies. Prior to joining 1Kosmos, Michael held VP of Digital and Content Marketing roles at both Agari and ThreatMetrix.

Siddharth Gandhi

COO, APAC
Siddharth is a multifaceted professional leader who brings a unique blend of well-rounded experience of nearly twenty years spanning across industries like Information Technology, Retail, Investment Management and Banking. He has successfully managed multiple cross-functional disciplines including Infosec, IT, HR, Finance, MIS, Business Development and Administration over the years.

Mike McConnell

Retired Director NSA, Retired Vice Chairman BAH

Art Money

Former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence

Kirstjen Nielsen

Former Secretary at U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Peter Carroll

Partner at Oliver Wyman

Chris Perry

President, Broadridge Financial Solutions

Ramin Safai

Chief Information Security Officer at Point72

Patrick Gorman

Former CISO BOA, Former CSO Bridgewater

Jim Ducharme

General Manager - Anti-Fraud Business Unit at RSA Security

Kemp Ensor

Former Director of the Office of Security and Counterintelligence at the NSA

Suhit Gupta

Chief Information Officer at General Atlantic

Bob Rose

Member of the DHS Homeland Security Advisory Council

Chris Bell

Co-founder and CEO of Opora

Mike Yoder

Director IAM Security Architecture at Coupang

Brandon Swafford

Business Information Security Officer at Citadel

Chris Day

Vice President of Tenable

Millin Desai

Chief Executive Officer at Sentry

Frank Cilluffo

Director, McCrary Institute for Cyber & Critical Infrastructure Security

Nandkumar Saravade

Founding CEO, Reserve Bank Information Technology Pvt Ltd (ReBIT)

Vanessa Neumann

CEO at Asymmetrica

Jim Pirnik

Identity, Access and Security Portfolio Manager, Shell

Gopal Padinjaruveetil

Vice President, CISO at The Auto Club Group

Hemen Vimadalal

Founder and CEO
Hemen is the visionary founder of 1Kosmos. He saw the need for an identity-first approach to authentication and a way to simplify the user experience. Prior to 1Kosmos, Hemen founded Simeio Solutions and Vaau, both of which had very successful exits. He is now an active investor in the cyber security space invested in companies including Securonix, Saviynt, BrinQa, and Simeio, among others.

Alberto Yepez

Co-Founder and Managing Director at ForgePoint Capital

Investors

Proven leaders with the mission to provide individuals secure digital identity controls and service providers powerful solutions to fight identity fraud while simplifying the user experience.

The Forgepoint team has over 30 years of combined experience connecting entrepreneurs, corporate and government customers, strategic partners, advisors, and executives to build the next generation of companies that protect the digital world.

On February 16, 2021, 1Kosmos announced that the company secured $15 million in series A funding from Forgepoint.

Press Release

Founded by cybersecurity entrepreneurs Ron and Cyndi Gula, Gula Tech Adventures invests in companies and nonprofits that help close the gap in needed technology and workforce to defend the country in cyberspace. They work directly with cybersecurity startups, investment funds and nonprofit organizations. Since 2017, the Gula’s have made more than 40 investments in cybersecurity startups like Automox, Cybrary, Huntress and Scythe, cybersecurity funds including Inner Loop Capital, DataTribe and Forgepoint Capital, and also supported cybersecurity nonprofits like Defending Digital Campaigns and voting.works.

On June 1, 2022, 1Kosmos announced that the company secured a strategic investment from Gula Tech Adventures.

Press Release

Ready to go Passwordless?

Indisputable identity-proofing, advanced biometrics-powered passwordless authentication and fraud detection in a single application.