What Self Protocol does

Self Protocol (operating as Self and Self Labs; legal entity SocialConnect Labs, Inc.) is a privacy-first, zero-knowledge identity platform headquartered in San Francisco and incorporated in Delaware. Founded in 2025, the company enables users to verify once by scanning the secure NFC chip of a government-issued biometric passport or supported national ID (including India's Aadhaar) via its Self Mobile app on iOS and Android, then reuse that verification to prove specific attributes—uniqueness, humanity, age, nationality, and OFAC sanctions status—without revealing underlying personal data. The platform is built on Celo blockchain, supports passports from 129 countries and national IDs from 35 (174+ total), and extends to AI agent identity via the ERC-8004-compliant Self Agent ID, which issues soulbound ERC-721 NFTs binding agents to verified humans through A2A JSON-RPC and MCP server integration.

The product suite follows a platform-plus-modules architecture. Core products include Self Pass (verification), Self Connect (federated identifier-to-wallet mapping via ODIS), Self Agent ID (on-chain agent identity registry), Self Enterprise (dashboard with Pre-KYC, Age Verification, and Proof of Human workspaces), Self Mobile (consumer app), and Agent Pay (upcoming summer 2026 release for agentic commerce on x402). The company employs 11–50 people, raised $9M in seed funding in November 2025, and reports 15+ million verified users as of mid-2026. Named integrations include Google Cloud, Aave, Opera, Velodrome, Para, and Talent Protocol.

The business model combines a product-led growth motion (free tier, $99/month Starter subscription, self-service SDKs in TypeScript, Python, and Rust) with enterprise field sales for large deployments (custom pricing, dedicated support, SLA). Customer segments span DeFi protocols (Aave, Velodrome), browsers and cloud platforms (Google Cloud, Opera), wallets (Para), and social/reputation platforms (Talent Protocol), with agentic AI systems emerging as a primary target via Self Agent ID. Distribution combines self-service developer channels, mobile app stores, and an enterprise sales motion supported by the Self Design Partner Program.

Name

Self Protocol

Legal name

SocialConnect Labs, Inc.

Website

https://self.xyz

Company type

Private

Founded year

2025

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Self Protocol is a privacy-first, zero-knowledge identity platform that lets users verify once via biometric passport or national ID NFC scan, then prove attributes like humanity, age, nationality, and OFAC status without sharing personal data, serving DeFi, browsers, wallets, and AI agent platforms.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Decentralized Identity Infrastructure

NAICS

Investigation and Personal Background Check Services (561611), Software Publishers (5132), Custom Computer Programming Services (541511)

SIC

Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

Decentralized Identity (DID) & Identity Wallets (DID methods, DIDComm, identity agents) (FSAPACAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Identity Verification, Proofing & KYC (IDV) (HDAEAJAI), Compliance Identity & KYC/KYB for Wallets (on-chain identity, reusable KYC, travel rule tooling) (FSAPACAL), Access Management & Policy Enforcement (Zero Trust) (BPAMAEAH)

Keywords

• Zero-knowledge identity verification
• Decentralized identity infrastructure
• Biometric passport verification
• Proof-of-human attestation
• AI agent identity registry

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Self Enterprise Subscription Tiers: Three-tier subscription model: Free tier for basic usage, Starter at $99/month for enhanced features, and Enterprise tier with custom pricing for large-scale deployments. The enterprise tier includes custom workspaces, dedicated support, and advanced configurations.
2. SDK/API Integration Services: Revenue generated through developer integration using Self SDKs. Companies pay for usage of identity verification infrastructure via Self Enterprise platform or infrastructure-level SDK integration.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Self Protocol provides a zero-knowledge identity verification platform that lets users prove facts about themselves (humanity, age, nationality, OFAC status) by scanning a biometric passport or national ID via the Self mobile app, without sharing the underlying personal data. The platform offers SDKs, APIs, and an enterprise dashboard so companies in fintech, DeFi, AI/agentic systems, and Web3 can integrate privacy-preserving proof-of-human verification, on-chain AI agent identity binding, Pre-KYC screening, age verification, and sybil resistance into their applications.

Product overview

Self Protocol is a privacy-first, open-source identity platform built on zero-knowledge proofs with a platform-plus-modules architecture. The core product is Self Pass, which enables one-time verification via biometric passport or Aadhaar NFC scan followed by reusable proof-of-identity without data sharing. Supporting products include Self Connect (federated identifier-to-wallet mapping on Celo), Self Agent ID (on-chain identity registry for AI agents via soulbound NFTs), Self Mobile (consumer mobile app for iOS/Android), Self Enterprise (enterprise dashboard with pre-configured workspaces), Pre-KYC (cryptographic eligibility pre-screening), Age Verification (age-gated proof without data disclosure), and Agent Pay (agentic commerce transaction tooling). The protocol operates on Celo blockchain with support for 174+ countries' passports.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Self Pass Core zero-knowledge identity product that lets a user verify once by scanning a biometric passport or national ID (Aadhaar) NFC chip and then prove specific attributes such as uniqueness, humanity, age, nationality, and OFAC status without disclosing underlying personal data; powers all other Self products.
• Self Connect Federated identity protocol that lets independent issuers register attestations mapping obfuscated identifiers (phone numbers, Twitter handles, emails) to blockchain wallet addresses using the ODIS privacy infrastructure on Celo, so applications can query for trusted identity verification.
• Self Agent ID On-chain identity registry that binds AI agent identities to Self-verified humans by issuing each agent a soulbound ERC-721 NFT backed by ZK passport verification, implementing the ERC-8004 Proof-of-Human extension and exposing TypeScript, Python, and Rust SDKs for trustless proof-of-human in agentic commerce and API access control.
• Self Enterprise Enterprise-grade dashboard offering customizable workflows and pre-configured workspaces for Proof-of-Human, Age Verification, and Pre-KYC, with Free, Starter at $99/month, and custom Enterprise tiers including dedicated support and SLAs.
• Self Mobile iOS and Android mobile application that lets end users scan NFC-enabled biometric passports or connect Indian Aadhaar to generate zero-knowledge identity proofs locally on the device, storing verifiable credentials locally.
• Pre-KYC Enterprise capability that uses zero-knowledge proofs to cryptographically pre-screen users for eligibility (age, nationality, OFAC sanctions status, document validity) before triggering a billable full KYC check, eliminating PII handling for rejected applicants.
• Age Verification Zero-knowledge age verification service that confirms a user meets an age threshold without revealing date of birth or requiring personal documentation uploads to the requesting party.
• Proof of Human Zero-knowledge proof service that cryptographically confirms each user is a unique, real human (not a bot or duplicate), using biometric passport NFC verification and on-device ZK proofs for privacy-preserving sybil resistance.

Quantifiable outcome

• Users can verify once and prove attributes across unlimited applications without re-verification
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration15 records

AI capability6 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• AavecoreTechnology or Integration · 3 September 2025Aave deployed Self's zkProof-of-Humanity integration enabling users who supply USDT and WETH to double their yield by confirming humanity via Self. The integration addresses sybil resistance ensuring rewards reach unique, verified humans rather than wallets from single users. Initially live on Celo.
• Stabila FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 September 2025Stabila Foundation partnered with Aave and Self for the zkProof-of-Humanity campaign launch. Stabila is a community-funded initiative dedicated to increasing adoption and real-world use cases of stablecoins.
• Google CloudcoreTechnology or Integration · 23 July 2025Google Cloud integrated Self for identity proof-of-humanity for its AI-powered Web3 search platform, sybil-resistance for its Testnet Faucet, and the forthcoming launch of a Mainnet Faucet using Self's OFAC exclusion proofs for sanctions screening. Google USA₮ Faucet lets verified users receive USA₮ stablecoin directly on Celo network to help them get started exploring Web3 applications.
• ParacoreTechnology or Integration · 17 July 2025Para integrated Self for compliant wallet onboarding. Self acts as credentialing technology linking verified identity attributes without exposing private data to Para's universal embedded wallets. Enables portable trust across apps with credentials living with the wallet.
• VelodromecoreTechnology or Integration · 2 July 2025Velodrome pilot using VerifiedERC20 with Self to provide boosted rewards to users who verify their humanity via Self Pass. Available for Celo native asset pairs including USDT/WETH, CELO/USDT, USDT/cUSD. Plans to expand to 10+ OP Superchain ecosystem networks.
• OperacoreTechnology or IntegrationOpera relies on Self for millions of verifications, using Self's zero-knowledge identity solutions for their browser ecosystem.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• ID.me: ID.me provides identity verification with a strong privacy and consumer-control positioning, serving government, healthcare, and financial services. Comparable as a broad incumbent with overlapping enterprise KYC and reusable-identity value proposition.
• Persona: Persona is a leading identity verification platform serving enterprises with KYC/KYB and AML flows. While not decentralized, it competes for the same enterprise Pre-KYC and age-verification budgets Self is targeting with Self Enterprise.

Direct peers

• Polygon ID: Polygon ID is a zero-knowledge identity layer built on Polygon, providing verifiable credentials and DID-based identity for Web3 and enterprise. It competes with Self on the same ZK-DID architecture for proof-of-human and KYC reuse.
• World (formerly Worldcoin): Worldcoin/World provides proof-of-personhood via iris biometric verification through the Orb device, generating World IDs for sybil resistance. It is the most direct competitor to Self's biometric-based proof-of-human value proposition, targeting similar crypto and AI agent use cases.
• Civic: Civic offers decentralized identity verification with reusable KYC credentials on-chain. Its emphasis on privacy-preserving verification and reusable attestations directly mirrors Self's Pre-KYC and proof-of-human model for crypto and enterprise customers.
• Holonym: Holonym provides ZK-based identity proofs and private credentials for Web3 applications, including proof-of-humanity and KYC reuse. Direct technical overlap with Self's ZK passport-verification stack.
• BrightID: BrightID is a decentralized proof-of-personhood network using social-graph verification rather than biometrics. It targets the same Sybil-resistance and one-human-one-account use cases as Self across Web3 communities.
• Idena: Idena is a proof-of-personhood blockchain using AI-driven validation ceremonies to verify unique humans. Comparable as an alternative non-biometric proof-of-personhood alternative competing for the same Sybil-resistance use cases.
• Trinsic: Trinsic offers a reusable identity network for verifiable credentials and decentralized identity infrastructure. Overlaps with Self in providing enterprise-facing tools for issuing, holding, and verifying portable identity credentials.

Emerging players

• Humanity Protocol: Humanity Protocol offers proof-of-human using palm-recognition biometrics, similarly positioned to bridge Web2/Web3 identity with privacy. Comparable as a biometric-based proof-of-personhood alternative to Self's passport-NFC approach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/selfprotocol
• GitHubgithub.com/selfxyz
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/self-xyz

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors5 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A2 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Self Protocol