# Jonathan Awad

> Jonathan Awad is the New York-based co-founder and CEO of Baselayer, an identity and risk infrastructure company for financial institutions. After investment banking, helping start real-estate securities marketplace LEX, and operating roles at OakNorth and Middesk, he co-founded the company legally incorporated as Osiris Ratings in 2023 with Timothy Hyde. Baselayer put its first customer live in 2024 and announced a $35 million Series A and an identity suite for AI agents in September 2026.

- **Role:** Co-Founder and CEO at Baselayer
- **Organizations:** Baselayer, Middesk, OakNorth, LEX, JPMorgan, Skidmore College
- **Education:** Government and Management and Business double major, Skidmore College
- **Known for:** Co-founded Baselayer and led it from first customer to more than 200 customers and partners, according to his public 2026 chronology., Raised $5 million during the 2023 Silicon Valley Bank crisis for the company that became Baselayer., Led Baselayer through a $35 million Series A announced in September 2026.

## Career timeline

- **2015** — Interned at JPMorgan while serving as president of Skidmore's investment club.
- **2016** — Graduated from Skidmore College after studying Government and Management and Business.
- **2017** — Left investment banking to help start LEX, a marketplace for real-estate securities.
- **2019** — LEX raised $30 million; Awad later described the overall experience as disappointing and insufficiently instructive.
- **2019-2021** — Worked in growth, strategy and investment roles at OakNorth.
- **2021-2023** — Worked in growth and product at business-identity company Middesk.
- **2023** — Incorporated Osiris Ratings, spoke with 50 prospects, raised $5 million during the Silicon Valley Bank crisis and recruited Timothy Hyde as co-founder.
- **2024** — Expanded the idea into an AI risk platform, renamed it Baselayer and put the first customer live on April 5.
- **2025** — Baselayer grew to more than 75 customers and partners; Awad expanded his public writing and event-led distribution.
- **2026** — Baselayer announced a $35 million Series A led by M13 and launched an Agentic Identity Suite.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Baselayer and led it from first customer to more than 200 customers and partners, according to his public 2026 chronology.
- Raised $5 million during the 2023 Silicon Valley Bank crisis for the company that became Baselayer.
- Led Baselayer through a $35 million Series A announced in September 2026.
- Helped build a platform that Baselayer says serves more than 2,300 financial institutions and payments companies.
- Previously helped build LEX and worked in growth, investing and product roles at OakNorth and Middesk.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — Baselayer announced a $35 million Series A led by M13, with participation from Torch Capital, Picus Ventures, Afore Capital and Matt Thompson of Socure.
- **2026-09** — Baselayer launched its Agentic Identity Suite for verifying agents, their principals and their authority to act.
- **2026-09** — Awad wrote that Baselayer had run more than 60 million business verifications and connected the company's mission to his parents' immigration experience.
- **2026-09** — Awad said he had interviewed more than 300 candidates in 2026 while Baselayer expanded hiring in New York and San Francisco.

## Links

- Website: https://jsawadd.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jsawadd/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/jsawadd
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHV_j2kyJbM

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/jonathan-awad
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-26