BELLEVUE, Wash., Sept. 22, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Identity Digital, a portfolio company of Ethos Capital, today announced the spinout of Known (formerly Innovation Labs) as an independent company focused on one of the fundamental requirements of the emerging agentic economy: establishing accountability for AI agents wherever they operate.
AI agents are increasingly able to initiate transactions, move information and act across organizational boundaries without direct human involvement. Existing identity and access systems can authenticate agents and govern what they are permitted to do within a particular environment, but they do not establish who is accountable for an agent as it moves between organizations, platforms and systems.
As agents operate across more organizations, bilateral trust relationships do not scale. No organization can establish and maintain direct trust with every organization its agents may encounter. Autonomous AI requires a shared accountability layer that works across organizational boundaries.
Earlier this year, the team introduced DNSid, an open, neutral framework for accountable AI identity. Built on DNS, PKI, and an immutable ledger, DNSid uses proven Internet infrastructure to make agent accountability interoperable across organizational boundaries. It gives AI agents a persistent identity tied to the organization responsible for them, allowing accountability to travel with the agent across organizations, platforms, and systems without requiring one-to-one trust relationships. Known will advance DNSid as an open standard and build the capabilities enterprises need to put agent accountability into practice at scale.
Known launches with significant momentum already in place. The company has submitted an Internet-Draft to the IETF, and is participating in the Linux Foundation ecosystem through both the Agentic AI Foundation (AAIF) and LF Decentralized Trust (LFDT). The company is also working with enterprise customers and policymakers in Washington, D.C. Its Advisory Council includes Vint Cerf, David Conrad, Charles Ryan, Paul Sagan, Teresa Shea, Corey Thomas, and Vinh Nguyen. The company is currently led by interim CEO and Identity Digital board member, Allie Kline, while an executive search for its permanent CEO is underway.
“We reached a point where keeping this work inside Identity Digital would limit its potential,” said Akram Atallah, CEO, Identity Digital. “Agent accountability needs to work across companies, platforms, and ecosystems. Known now has the independence to work across the market and build the broad participation required for shared infrastructure to succeed.”
“AI agents will not scale without accountability,” said Allie Kline, Interim CEO, Known. “As agents begin transacting, exchanging information, and operating across organizational boundaries, accountability requires a consistent way to know who is responsible for them. That is essential to building the trust required for broader adoption.”
Ethos Capital will continue to support Known as it builds the leadership and capabilities required for its next phase of growth. Identity Digital will remain a strategic investor and founding partner, contributing its decades of expertise in Internet infrastructure while helping Known expand its ecosystem and accelerate industry adoption. Identity Digital will retain one of five seats on the Board of Directors, providing continuity as Known scales its mission.
“Autonomous AI is creating a new class of actors in the digital economy, and with that comes a new set of infrastructure needs,” said Erik Brooks, Managing Partner, Ethos Capital. “We believe accountability will become foundational as agents begin transacting and operating across organizations, creating a significant new market. Known is working to address that need early and has the opportunity to define an important new category of infrastructure.”
About Known
Known is building the accountability infrastructure for autonomous AI. As AI agents increasingly operate across organizations, platforms, and jurisdictions, Known is advancing DNSid as an open, neutral DNS-based identity standard designed to make accountability interoperable at Internet scale. For more information, visit www.knownsystems.ai and www.DNSid.ai.
About Identity Digital
Identity Digital Inc. simplifies and connects the online world with domain names and related technologies to empower people to build, market, and own their digital identities. With the world’s largest portfolio of TLDs, including .llc, .pro, .world, .fyi, and .studio, Identity Digital supports over 28 million domains on its registry services platform. The company also enables customers to discover, register, and manage domain names through its registrar, name.com. Headquartered in Bellevue, WA, Identity Digital is a global company with approximately 250 employees. For more information, visit identity.digital.
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