Global vLEI Hackathon: How Affinidi and GLEIF Are Accelerating Privacy-Preserving Identity for the AI Era
Glenn Gore, CEO of Affinidi, explores how verifiable credentials and trust-based infrastructure are replacing legacy identity systems, preserving privacy, and enabling confident participation in an AI-driven economy.
Author: Glenn Gore, CEO of Affinidi
Date: 2025-10-29
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Affinidi is a data technology company transforming the global data value chain through the Internet of Trust. In this blog, Glenn Gore, CEO of Affinidi, explains why replacing legacy identity and access management systems with verifiable, trust-based systems preserves privacy and ensures advantage in an AI-driven economy.
What inspired Affinidi to support the inaugural vLEI Hackathon, and how does this collaboration align with your broader vision and mission of advancing decentralized, privacy-first identity?
We saw a pivotal opportunity to accelerate the adoption of verifiable credentials and raise awareness around identity governance. GLEIF, as the global authority for trusted identity frameworks, shares our commitment to building an Internet of Trust through privacy-preserving principles. Together, we demonstrate how organizations can verify legal identity without compromising sensitive data or relying on centralized intermediaries.
The verifiable Legal Entity Identifier (vLEI) exemplifies this vision, streamlining business processes, enhancing regulatory compliance, and building trust in digital transactions. By allowing developers to build real-world applications of verifiable credentials, the vLEI Hackathon is driving innovation and accelerating adoption through practical, developer-led solutions.
How does Affinidi's trust infrastructure enable organizations to implement verifiable credentials, and what makes your approach different from traditional identity solutions?
Affinidi enables businesses to implement verifiable credentials through developer-friendly tools and infrastructure that integrate with existing systems. Organizations use our APIs and SDKs to issue and verify credentials or to enable AI agents to carry verifiable proof without building complex cryptographic systems from scratch. We handle the technical complexity so businesses can focus on use cases such as streamlined onboarding, cross-border verification, and trusted agent automation.
What sets us apart is our commitment to rightful data ownership and interoperability. Traditional solutions centralize data in organizational databases, creating security risks and compliance burdens. We flip this so individuals retain control over their data while businesses can verify them cryptographically without storing personal data. Our open standards approach prevents vendor lock-in, ensuring credentials work across any platform globally so that individuals, businesses, and AI agents operate within a single trusted framework.
Which industry challenges do you most hope vLEI Hackathon participants will address, and what makes those areas especially urgent or ripe for innovation?
The rapid growth of AI agents is creating a new trust challenge. Businesses increasingly use agents for critical tasks such as approving loans, processing claims, or executing trades. However, they can't easily verify if these agents have proper authority or track their actions.
The issue is simple: traditional systems assume humans make decisions and can be held responsible. But AI agents move too quickly and handle too many transactions without human oversight, creating a trust gap around legitimacy and authority.
Verifiable credentials solve this by letting AI agents carry digital proof of their authority and scope. Organizations can instantly verify authorization and capabilities, unlocking enormous value. This enables businesses to deploy AI confidently, helps regulators maintain oversight, and fosters the growth of a trustworthy digital economy. By addressing this challenge, vLEI Hackathon participants will set standards for how AI operates in regulated industries and beyond.
How is Affinidi preparing businesses for a future where AI agents and humans interact in trusted digital environments?
We're preparing businesses through practical infrastructure and proven partnerships. Our developer tools, APIs, and integration frameworks enable verifiable credentials systems that safely delegate tasks to AI agents – such as booking travel plans, opening bank accounts, or managing healthcare access – without manual verification or privacy risks. Businesses can begin with a single credential type, then expand as they see value, building capabilities incrementally rather than all at once.
Our partnership with GLEIF demonstrates this approach in action. By combining GLEIF's regulatory credibility with Affinidi’s decentralized technology, we're showing that established trust frameworks can accelerate adoption. This shows businesses a clear path: leverage proven standards while gaining the flexibility and privacy benefits of decentralized infrastructure.
The shift is essential as AI agents, cross-border commerce, and data privacy regulations collectively reshape the business landscape. Organizations adopting verifiable credentials now gain faster onboarding, lower compliance costs, and access to emerging digital ecosystems from Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) to Web3 applications. Those preparing today will lead tomorrow's digital economy, while those waiting risk being left behind as verified identity becomes essential infrastructure for competitive advantage.
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Glenn Gore is the CEO of Affinidi and LemmaTree, pioneering the Internet of Trust by designing infrastructure that enables trusted ecosystems built on data ownership principles. Under his leadership, Affinidi has become a hub for innovation, empowering developers to build decentralized data and identity solutions.
Glenn's work has helped grow ventures such as Trustana, advancing trust frameworks across the digital ecosystem. With over 25 years of experience in Internet services, Glenn has held senior roles, including Chief Architect at Amazon Web Services, as well as leadership positions at OzEmail, UUNet, and WebCentral. Based in Singapore, Glenn continues to champion global innovation, collaborative strategy, and architectural excellence in the evolving world of trusted digital identity.
