John Backus

Founder

CTO and co-founder of Cognito (formerly BlockScore). Thiel Fellow. Stanford dropout. Founding research scientist at Stanford Bitcoin Group. Co-founded Bloom after Cognito.

Overview

Companies
1
Roles

Companies

1 company
Cognito $2M
Acquired

Identity verification and compliance platform (formerly BlockScore). Used phone numbers to verify real-world identity including name, DOB, address, and SSN. Originally built for crypto compliance, later pivoted to a phone-first verification approach that achieved 2,000% more traction. Acquired by Plaid in January 2022 for a reported $250M.

Founder data is compiled from company records, public announcements, and verified sources. Roles reflect current or most recent known positions.