by Matt Cooper
The man who invented mobile identity APIs has a new mission...
The world’s first mobile identity APIs weren’t born in Silicon Valley or inside a global boardroom. They began in 2013, when Gautam Hazari wrote the first specification of Mobile Identity API, now used by CAMARA/Open Gateway APIs. And continued in 2016, in a room at the Imperial Hotel in New Delhi, where Gautam sat at his desk sketching out MNV – mobile number verification – his number verify idea that would change the mobile industry, used even today, almost as-is.
His concept was striking in its simplicity: use the SIM card as the foundation of secure digital identity. From those notes came a breakthrough that has since become standard across banking, fintech and enterprise – the way millions of people prove who they are online every single day.
Fast forward to today and Gautam has stepped into a new role as Chief Product & Innovation Officer at XConnect, part of the Somos Group. His task: to take the APIs he helped invent and put them to work at global scale, humanising identity in a world where AI agents, fraudsters, and enterprises are all colliding at speed.
We sat down with him to talk about the future of trust, why identity is more urgent than ever, and what excites him about his new chapter.
XConnect: You’ve been at the heart of creating and shaping mobile identity APIs. How do you see this integration accelerating innovation at XConnect?
Gautam Hazari: “There has not been a more critical time to solve the identity crisis of the Internet than now. As the digital world evolves into the Internet of Agents, where our digital self is represented by AI agents, innovation needs to take a super-quantum leap. Our “Digital Me” – our identity – becomes even more crucial in this new world, especially when around 850 million people globally still lack any form of recognised identity.
For me, innovation is at its best when it makes technology more human – simpler, safer, and more meaningful in people’s lives. By integrating mobile identity APIs into XConnect’s global ecosystem, we’re not just scaling products and technology, we’re scaling trust. This will accelerate our ability to create solutions that protect every human, every transaction, and every communication, while empowering enterprises to innovate with confidence.
I’ve been driving these initiatives for decades, ever since that day in the New Delhi hotel room when I first sketched out the architecture. To now be bringing that journey full circle as part of XConnect and the Somos Group – with vision matched by execution – is incredibly exciting.”
XC: From a product perspective, as Chief Product & Innovation Officer, what does this move mean for current and future solutions?
GH: “It’s about building a bridge between today and tomorrow. For current solutions, this integration strengthens their value by combining intelligence with scale. For the future, it opens the door to entirely new possibilities, where security and user experience aren’t trade-offs but natural partners.
My role is to ensure we design with humans at the centre, so every product feels intuitive, secure, and transformative.”
XC: Where do you see the biggest opportunities for XConnect to differentiate in the identity and fraud prevention space.
GH: “The real opportunity lies in humanising solutions while establishing trust. Too often, fraud prevention feels like a barrier. We have the chance to flip that – making it an enabler of trust and seamless experiences.
By harnessing network intelligence, mobile operator assets and data, combined with cutting-edge AI and machine learning, XConnect can deliver solutions that protect people and businesses without adding complexity. That balance – trust without friction – is where we can truly stand apart.”
XC: What excites you most about working under the XConnect brand and with the expanded reach it offers?
GH: “Impact at scale. With XConnect’s reach, we can bring innovation to life across industries and borders. But more importantly, it’s about the people – working with an exceptional team and partners who share the vision of technology that serves humanity first. That combination of reach and purpose is powerful.”
XC: Looking ahead, what should enterprises and operators expect next from XConnect on the innovation front?
GH: “They should expect us to move quickly, experiment boldly, and deliver solutions that are both practical and forward-looking. Innovation for us won’t just be about staying ahead of fraud – it will be about reimagining what trust looks like in a digital-first, post-GenAI world.
Enterprises and operators can expect solutions that go beyond problem-solving. Through number intelligence and network APIs, we’ll unlock opportunities: innovations that humanise technology, simplify experiences, and build the kind of digital trust that drives growth.”
Gautam has always had one eye on the horizon; in 2012, it was from the desk of his room at the Imperial Hotel in New Delhi, the blueprint that would change how banks, fintechs and enterprises identify humans online. Today, it’s from his new desk at XConnect where he is once again shaping the next chapter.
The future of APIs, those simple connectors that allow applications to talk to one another, is moving centre stage. Combined with apps, AI, and the emergence of agentic AI – where autonomous digital agents act on our behalf – they are set to further transform industries as profoundly as the original mobile identity APIs did a decade ago.
For Gautam, the task now is not just about keeping fraud at bay, but about reimagining what trust looks like in a world where humans and AI agents will increasingly share the same digital space. The foundations he drew up in New Delhi proved that identity could be simple, secure, and human.
The challenge at XConnect is to scale those principles into a post-GenAI world. And really, when it comes to the future of mobile identity, who better to trust than the man who invented the first APIs that made it possible?
