According to Inc, Blake Hall’s military experience hunting terrorists in Iraq directly informed his founding of identity verification company ID.me, which is now valued at $2 billion. During his 2006 tour in Mosul, Hall’s recon platoon was converted to a kill-capture unit targeting senior al-Qaeda leadership, giving him firsthand insight into how bad actors manipulate telecommunications. After leaving active service and attending Harvard Business School, Hall founded ID.me, which now serves over 18 million veterans and service members. The company has expanded to support students, teachers, first responders, and government agencies including the IRS and Social Security Administration, with corporate partners ranging from Apple and YouTube to BMW, Tesla, and Ford.
From battlefield to boardroom
Here’s the thing about Hall’s story – it’s not your typical founder narrative. He wasn’t building apps in his dorm room. He was literally hunting terrorists in Mosul, learning how they used burner phones, swapped SIM cards, and employed couriers to mask their identities. That’s some serious real-world fraud detection training. And honestly, it gives him a level of credibility that most tech CEOs simply don’t have. When he talks about understanding how bad actors operate, he’s not theorizing – he’s drawing from actual life-or-death experiences.
Solving a problem he understood deeply
The company’s origin story is particularly compelling because it solved a problem Hall personally witnessed. Veterans sharing their separation paperwork – complete with Social Security numbers – just to get a free Bloomin’ Onion at Outback? That’s the kind of security nightmare that keeps cybersecurity experts up at night. Hall recognized this wasn’t just inefficient – it was dangerous. His solution? A digital wallet that lets people prove their identity without exposing sensitive information to every random restaurant employee. It’s basically giving people control over their digital identity while blocking fraud attempts.
From veterans to everyone
What started as a veteran-focused service has exploded into something much bigger. Eighteen million users is no small feat, and the client list reads like a who’s who of government and corporate America. The IRS? Social Security Administration? Apple? Tesla? That’s some serious validation of their technology. And it makes sense – if your system can handle the security requirements of federal agencies while still being user-friendly enough for consumer applications, you’ve hit that sweet spot that few companies manage to find.
Fueling growth with strategic funding
Hall’s relentless pursuit of both venture capital and government grants shows he understands the different types of fuel needed for different growth stages. Venture money for scaling, government grants for credibility and specific use cases – it’s a smart mix. The $2 billion valuation suggests investors see the potential in taking military-grade identity verification and applying it to everyday problems. Basically, he’s building a business that combines national security-level rigor with consumer convenience. And in today’s world of rampant identity theft and fraud, that’s a pretty compelling value proposition.
