DataTrails
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
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Sections to complete：02 · 05
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
DataTrails (formerly RKVST) was a blockchain-based data integrity startup founded in 2018, headquartered in Santa Clara, California with a team in Cambridge, UK. Its platform created immutable audit trails - cryptographic hashes and metadata linkage - to prove the authenticity and provenance of digital assets and supply-chain events, serving sectors including AI development, media and supply-chain management. It was founded by Jon Geater, Krishna Anne and Rob Brown, with Rusty Cumpston as CEO, and raised a $7.5 million Series A in 2022 led by Ridgeline.
02 / FAILURE REASONS
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03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Founded as RKVST
Jon Geater, Krishna Anne and Rob Brown founded the company (as RKVST) to bring long-term data integrity and trust back to the internet.
- Series A
The company raised a $7.5 million Series A led by Ridgeline, with Acadia Woods, Cyber Mentor Fund and Long Run Capital, to accelerate go-to-market and developer adoption.
- Rebranded and partnered
RKVST rebranded as DataTrails and partnered with Digimarc to combine immutable audit trails with digital watermarks for content authenticity.
- Acquired by OnID
On August 14, 2025, OnID, an AI-powered biometric identity company, acquired DataTrails to combine its biometric engine with DataTrails' audit layer into an identity and compliance platform for regulated markets.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN / AFTERMATH
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