About Merit
Merit was founded in 2017 by Alex Grubb, Chris Yeh, and Zachary Blumenfeld, based on the observation that many important credentials people rely on for their livelihoods, such as professional licenses, government-issued permits, and other official certifications, are traditionally issued and verified through slow, paper-based, or fragmented digital processes that make it difficult for both credential holders and organizations that need to verify those credentials, such as employers checking a professional license, to efficiently confirm that a given credential is genuine, current, and in good standing.
Merit's platform provides infrastructure for government agencies and other credential-issuing organizations to issue digital versions of licenses, certifications, and other official credentials that can be easily and instantly verified online by third parties who need to confirm a credential's authenticity and current status, such as an employer verifying a job candidate's professional license or a business verifying a contractor's required permits, addressing a common friction point where manual credential verification processes can create significant delays and administrative burden for both the credential holder trying to demonstrate their qualifications and the organization trying to verify them. The company has worked particularly closely with U.S. state and local government agencies, which are typically responsible for issuing many types of professional licenses, such as those for healthcare workers, contractors, and other regulated professions, helping these agencies modernize traditionally paper-based or fragmented digital licensing and verification systems. Merit's platform has found particular relevance in contexts requiring rapid, at-scale credential verification, such as verifying healthcare worker licenses during public health emergencies when out-of-state medical professionals may need to be rapidly credentialed to help respond to a surge in patient need. The company has positioned itself as critical trust infrastructure connecting credential-issuing government agencies with the many different employers, businesses, and other organizations that need to reliably verify those credentials, raising venture funding from investors to support its government-focused digital credentialing platform.
