Dusk Network invests $50,000 in Outdid to spur self-sovereign ide…

Outdid creates proof-system for passports without revealing personal information

The Amsterdam-based FinTech Dusk Network invested in Outdid. The London-based startup is using NFC and zero-knowledge proof technology to verify passport identities, without revealing any personal information. This helps in reducing identity fraud, as often this information is not securely stored or easily obtained via data hacks. This is Dusk Network’s largest investment ticket to date, helping Outdid accelerate the development of the technology. 

The Outdid technology allows companies to verify the government-issued IDs of their users, without asking the users to send any of their personal data to anyone, not even the company itself. This is in contrast to the conventional approach of doing identity verification, which requires the user to send their ID data to a third party for verification.  The interest of Dusk Network in the identity solution is a very strategic move. The company recently announced Citadel, their own private Know Your Customer (KYC) solution, and would benefit from integrating Outdid’s technology in their own tech stack. 

“When we announced Citadel, it sparked great interest both within our company but also from the industry. One of the problems many self-sovereign identity companies face is the complexity of the technology to only provide essential information. With our stake in Outdid, we combine two game-changing technologies that would solve compliance issues for entire industries” – says Emanuele Francioni, founder and CEO of Dusk Network. 

Preventing identity fraud as biggest use case

By using zero-knowledge technology and decentralized data storage, the largest use case would be reducing identity theft and fraud, as most of this data is obtained illegally via data leaks. Using Outdid would give the passport owner full control of the data they share and with whom. 

The founders of Outdid

“When we started Outdid, it was meant to be something people really want and care for, today, and not for a distant point in the future. Dusk Network quickly stood out as a partner aligning with this vision, because they are using blockchain technology to aid specific & tangible real-world problems. Receiving an investment was the natural way to form this partnership, align interest, and get mentorship access to Emanuele Francioni and their world-class team of ZK & privacy researchers – technologies Outdid uses. Citadel is the first avenue to explore collaboration, to aid fully private KYC checks.” – says Zvezdin Besarabov, co-founder of Outdid.

The investment was announced during an exclusive Dusk networking dinner, with over 50 game-changers from traditional financial institutions, the banking industry, media, and influencers. The event marks a new era for the company, which will hit the five year milestone in September 2023. Disclosing the investment will be the first strategic announcement, followed by upcoming pilots and collaborations in the near future.