Hellō is a pioneer in bringing identity management into the Model Context Protocol (MCP) ecosystem. By releasing an Admin MCP Server, they allow AI agents and coding assistants to interact directly with identity infrastructure. This means an agent can programmatically provision, configure, and manage application credentials via natural language commands within an IDE, removing one of the most common friction points in software development.

In the broader agent stack, Hellō represents the 'Identity' layer for autonomous tools. As agents take on more tasks involving infrastructure management, the ability to securely handle authentication without manual human intervention becomes critical. Hellō's focus on protocol-level abstraction and free SSO makes it an attractive utility for developers building agent-integrated applications who need to solve for auth without incurring the high costs of legacy providers.

The protocol veteran's mission to fix identity

Hellō is a protocol-level abstraction layer designed to simplify how applications handle user identity. Founded by Dick Hardt, a figure who led the design of OAuth 2.0 and JSON Web Tokens (JWTs), the company is a direct response to the complexity and cost of modern identity management. Hardt's thesis, often referred to as "Identity 2.0," focuses on user-centric control rather than silos. Hellō operates as the "Identity Interchange," consolidating multiple authentication sources into a single OpenID Connect integration.

The core problem Hellō addresses is the fragmentation of authentication. For developers, supporting Google, Apple, Microsoft, and various enterprise SAML providers usually requires either high-maintenance custom code or expensive third-party services. Hellō provides this integration for free, removing what the industry calls the "SSO tax"—the practice of charging significant premiums for enterprise security features. Their B2C product offers social login from 17 providers, while the B2B offering enables enterprise SSO with zero configuration. When a user enters a work email, Hellō automatically routes them to the correct provider without requiring manual SAML setup.

Governance through cooperation

What distinguishes Hellō from competitors like Clerk or Stytch is its governance structure. The service is governed by the Hello Identity Co-op, a not-for-profit cooperative. This model includes three classes of members: users, corporations, and employees. By placing the critical intellectual property and data governance within a cooperative, Hellō aims to provide a neutral infrastructure that isn't subject to the typical venture-backed pressure to monetize via restrictive licensing or data exploitation. The daily operations are managed by a for-profit corporation (DBA Hellō), but the cooperative serves as a check on the platform's tenets.

Identity for the agentic era

While traditional identity providers focus on human-to-browser interactions, Hellō has moved into the AI agent space with its Admin MCP (Model Context Protocol) Server. This allows AI coding assistants to manage identity tasks directly within the IDE. An agent can use natural language commands to provision new application credentials or configure authentication flows without the developer needing to leave their environment. This move signals a transition toward "agentic coding," where the setup of infrastructure like OAuth clients is handled by software rather than manual dashboard configuration.

The company is also expanding into lifecycle management. Hellō Lifecycle, slated for broad release in early 2026, aims to automate user deprovisioning. When an employee is removed from a corporate directory like Microsoft Entra or Google Workspace, Hellō notifies the connected SaaS applications to revoke access. This automation is intended to help startups meet compliance requirements without manual overhead. Based in the Pacific Northwest, the team remains lean, focusing on standardizing the "Interchange" rather than building a bloated feature set.