SAFE Identity
DirectTrust is a non-profit healthcare trust framework organization operating PKI infrastructure and interoperability standards (The Direct Standard, TIM+) that enables secure data exchange across 100+ member organizations including EHR vendors, health systems, payers, and federal agencies.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- HeadquartersReston, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What SAFE Identity does
DirectTrust is a non-profit healthcare industry organization that operates a trust framework and Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) enabling secure, interoperable data exchange across the U.S. healthcare ecosystem. The organization develops and maintains interoperability standards including The Direct Standard, Trusted Instant Messaging Plus (TIM+), Event Notifications via Direct, the Information Exchange for Human Services (IX4HS), the Privacy-Enhancing Health Record Locator Service (PEHRLS) Ecosystem, and Interoperable Secure Cloud Fax. It also runs centralized directory services, trust bundles, and certificate issuance functions that collectively allow competing healthcare entities to verify identities and exchange protected health information without requiring bilateral trust agreements.
DirectTrust serves over 100 contributing member organizations spanning health IT vendors (athenaHealth, eClinicalWorks, Oracle Health, NextGen Healthcare), health information networks (CommonWell Health Alliance, Surescripts, Availity, Civitas Networks for Health), large delivery systems (Sutter Health, Intermountain Healthcare, CVS Health), and federal agencies (HHS, VA). Its business model is membership-based with tiered fees that grant influence over standards development, peer networking, brand visibility, and access to accreditation programs. Pricing is not publicly disclosed. In June 2026, DirectTrust launched its Artificial Intelligence Accreditation Program v1.0 to provide third-party governance validation for AI implementations in healthcare, with two organizations completing accreditation during beta. The organization is headquartered in Washington, DC.
The underlying technology stack rests on PKI-based identity verification, a centralized directory, and curated trust bundles distributed to participating organizations. DirectTrust's go-to-market motion is community-led: adoption is driven through membership programs, industry events (its own annual conference, HIMSS, ViVE), standards advocacy, roundtables (including collaboration with The Sequoia Project's Data Usability Workgroup), and content marketing rather than direct enterprise sales. Strategic alliances with HITRUST (for combined security and certification services) and Sequoia Project (for interoperability initiatives) extend the framework's reach. No revenue, headcount, or funding data is publicly disclosed, limiting visibility into financial scale, though the breadth of member participation and billions of cumulative messages exchanged indicate deep operational penetration within U.S. healthcare interoperability.
SAFE Identity firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- SAFE Identity
- Website
- https://makeidentitysafe.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- DirectTrust is a non-profit healthcare trust framework organization operating PKI infrastructure and interoperability standards (The Direct Standard, TIM+) that enables secure data exchange across 100+ member organizations including EHR vendors, health systems, payers, and federal agencies.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
SAFE Identity industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Healthcare Identity and Trust Services
- NAICS
- Security Systems Services (56162)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Secure Communication & Collaboration (Secure Messaging/Email/Teleconferencing) (HLACAJAM)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Device Identity & Certificate-Based Authentication (PKI) (BPAMAEAL), Application & API Security for Digital Health (WAF/RASP/API gateways) (HLACAJAH)
Keywords
Where SAFE Identity is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Reston
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
SAFE Identity business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Membership Fees: DirectTrust operates with membership fees, offering tiered benefits including influence over standards development, access to industry experts, peer networking, brand visibility, and service discounts.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
SAFE Identity product offering
Product offeringCore offering
SAFE Identity operates a trust framework and Public Key Infrastructure for healthcare data exchange, providing Direct Secure Messaging, centralized Directory Services, accredited Trust Bundles, a PKI Trust List, and digital certificate issuance to verify healthcare endpoints. It also runs accreditation programs—including the AI Accreditation Program v1.0—and publishes interoperability standards such as The Direct Standard®, Trusted Instant Messaging Plus (TIM+), and the PEHRLS Ecosystem to enable secure, standards-based data exchange.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Direct Secure Messaging A secure messaging service enabling trusted communication between healthcare organizations, providers, and patients using PKI-based encryption and identity verification, backed by The Direct Standard®.
- Directory Services Centralized directory services that let healthcare organizations discover and verify trusted participants in the Direct network for secure data exchange.
- Trust Framework Membership and Access Membership-based access to the standards-driven trust framework, providing influence over standards development, peer networking, brand visibility, and service discounts to contributing member organizations.
- Accreditation Services Accreditation programs that validate healthcare organizations and AI solutions against DirectTrust criteria, supporting third-party assurance of security, privacy, and compliance practices.
- AI Accreditation Program v1.0 An accreditation program for AI solutions in healthcare that strengthens governance, risk management, and oversight of AI implementations against published v1.0 criteria.
- Trust Bundle Distribution Distribution of curated DirectTrust Trust Bundles containing trusted endpoints and certificates that participants use to verify healthcare data exchange partners.
- DirectTrust PKI Trust List A Public Key Infrastructure trust list distributed to participants for certificate verification and authentication of healthcare data exchange participants.
- Certificate Issuance Issuance of digital certificates under the DirectTrust PKI to healthcare organizations, providers, and patients for use in secure messaging and identity verification.
- Trust Framework IdP List A published list of approved Identity Providers within the DirectTrust Trust Framework that participating organizations can rely on for federated identity.
- Consulting and Advisory Services Professional services that help healthcare organizations interpret DirectTrust criteria, prepare for accreditation, and deploy trust framework and standards-based interoperability solutions.
Quantifiable outcome
- Billions of cumulative messages exchanged through the Direct network
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use SAFE Identity
Customer profileNamed customers13 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
SAFE Identity technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
SAFE Identity partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- The Sequoia ProjectcoreDirectTrust collaborates with The Sequoia Project on interoperability initiatives including the Data Usability Workgroup, advancing standards and practices for healthcare data exchange.
- HIMSSminorDirectTrust participates in HIMSS conferences as a partner event, promoting healthcare interoperability standards and Direct messaging adoption at major industry events.
- HITRUSTcoreDirectTrust maintains a relationship with HITRUST for security and compliance validation, offering combined trust framework and certification services for healthcare organizations.
- CommonWell Health AlliancecoreCommonWell Health Alliance, a health information access network, participates as a member supporting Direct interoperability standards and trust framework adoption.
- Civitas Networks for HealthcoreCivitas Networks for Health, a national network of health information exchanges, participates as a member supporting regional and national health data exchange standards.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
SAFE Identity competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- HITRUST: Healthcare security and compliance assurance organization offering the CSF certification. DirectTrust maintains a core partnership with HITRUST to combine trust framework and certification services, making it a closely adjacent peer in health-trust services.
- eHealth Exchange: Nationwide health information network connecting federal agencies, providers, and HIEs. Operates as a competing directed-exchange framework, particularly for federal and public-sector participants.
- CAQH CORE: Operating-rule body for healthcare administrative data exchange (eligibility, claims, remittance). Operates a parallel non-profit standards/governance function with deep overlap into payer-provider interoperability.
- CommonWell Health Alliance: Health information network alliance enabling record exchange across EHR vendors. DirectTrust counts CommonWell as a member, and the two organizations intersect at the intersection of national health information exchange frameworks.
- The Sequoia Project: Non-profit healthcare interoperability organization operating parallel initiatives (e.g., eHealth Exchange, Carequality). DirectTrust collaborates with Sequoia on the Data Usability Workgroup, making it a co-steward of the U.S. directed-exchange ecosystem.
- Carequality: Interoperability framework connecting disparate health information networks via a shared trust agreement. Operates adjacent to DirectTrust's trust bundle infrastructure and shares the goal of cross-network healthcare data exchange.
- Civitas Networks for Health: National network of health information exchanges and interoperability implementers. DirectTrust member and core partner for regional/national health data exchange standards — a direct peer in convening the HIE community.
Broad incumbents
- Availity: Multi-stakeholder health information network connecting providers and payers. DirectTrust lists Availity as a member and partner; both operate at the intersection of clinical and administrative exchange.
- Surescripts: National health information network for prescriptions and clinical messaging. A DirectTrust member that operates as a broad incumbent in healthcare information exchange with overlapping capabilities in clinical messaging.
Emerging players
- CARIN Alliance: Multi-sector alliance advancing consumer-directed health data exchange. Addresses patient-mediated exchange, a thematic overlap with DirectTrust's emerging PEHRLS and patient-engagement focus.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
SAFE Identity social profiles
Digital presenceSAFE Identity financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
SAFE Identity leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
SAFE Identity funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
SAFE Identity M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about SAFE Identity
What does SAFE Identity do?
SAFE Identity operates a trust framework and Public Key Infrastructure for healthcare data exchange, providing Direct Secure Messaging, centralized Directory Services, accredited Trust Bundles, a PKI Trust List, and digital certificate issuance to verify healthcare endpoints. It also runs accreditation programs—including the AI Accreditation Program v1.0—and publishes interoperability standards such as The Direct Standard®, Trusted Instant Messaging Plus (TIM+), and the PEHRLS Ecosystem to enable secure, standards-based data exchange.
When was SAFE Identity founded?
SAFE Identity was founded in 2019. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is SAFE Identity based?
SAFE Identity is headquartered in Reston, United States, in the North America region.
How does SAFE Identity make money?
One revenue line is on record: membership Fees.
Who are SAFE Identity's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are HITRUST, eHealth Exchange, CAQH CORE, CommonWell Health Alliance, The Sequoia Project, Carequality and Civitas Networks for Health. Broad incumbents are Availity and Surescripts. CARIN Alliance is listed as an emerging player.
Does SAFE Identity have an API?
No public API is recorded for SAFE Identity.
What industry is SAFE Identity in?
SAFE Identity's product category is Healthcare Identity and Trust Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLACAJAM, Secure Communication & Collaboration (Secure Messaging/Email/Teleconferencing), with a secondary code of BPAMAEAL, Device Identity & Certificate-Based Authentication (PKI). Its NAICS code is 56162.