Alon Kaufman is an Israeli data scientist and entrepreneur who co-founded Duality Technologies in 2016 and serves as its CEO. He previously led data science and innovation at RSA Security. Kaufman holds a PhD in computational neuroscience from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and more than 30 approved US patents.
Dr Alon Kaufman is an Israeli data scientist and entrepreneur best known as the co-founder and CEO of Duality Technologies, a company that builds tools for analysing sensitive data without ever exposing it. His work sits at the intersection of cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and data privacy, a combination shaped by more than two decades split between corporate research and startup leadership.
Quick Biography
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full name | Dr. Alon Kaufman |
| Role | CEO and Co-Founder, Duality Technologies |
| Education | PhD, Computational Neuroscience and Machine Learning, Hebrew University of Jerusalem; MBA, Tel Aviv University |
| Prior role | Global Director of Data Science and Innovation, RSA Security |
| Based in | Israel |
| Known for | Founding Duality Technologies; privacy-enhancing technology; over 30 approved US patents |
Why Alon Kaufman Is Notable
Kaufman built his reputation first inside RSA Security, one of the most established names in cybersecurity, before leaving to start a company focused on a narrower and harder problem: letting organisations run analysis and AI on data they are not allowed to see directly. Duality’s technology now supports work across banking, healthcare, and government, areas where data sharing is valuable but tightly restricted by regulation and risk.
Key Facts at a Glance
- Holds a PhD in computational neuroscience and machine learning from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
- Spent close to a decade at RSA Security, rising to global director of data science and innovation.
- Co-founded Duality Technologies in 2016 alongside cryptographers including Turing Award winner Shafi Goldwasser.
- Holds more than 30 approved US patents across AI, machine learning, and cybersecurity.
- Regularly speaks at industry events including the RSA Conference and Strata Data Conference.
Early Life and Education
Academic Background
Kaufman’s academic training began in a field distinct from the cybersecurity world he would later shape. He earned a PhD in computational neuroscience and machine learning from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, completing the degree in the mid-2000s. He later added an MBA from Tel Aviv University, pairing deep technical research with formal business training.
From Research to Industry
Kaufman has described how his early research experience shaped his later career. During his academic work, he explored how data from different sources, including brain imaging and behavioural testing in stroke research, could be combined to produce insights neither source could offer alone. That question, how to responsibly and effectively combine sensitive data, became the throughline of his career.
Career Before Duality
Entering the Israeli Tech Sector
Before joining RSA, Kaufman held managerial and research positions at Israeli technology companies, working across various aspects of data mining and data science. This period gave him hands-on experience translating research into commercial products, a skill that would matter later when he moved from employee to founder.
Years at RSA Security
Kaufman joined RSA Israel in 2009 as head of research for the company’s fraud risk analytics products. By 2013, he had been promoted to global director of data science and innovation, a role in which he led data science strategy across RSA’s full product portfolio and served on RSA Israel’s management team. His work there centred on using data science to detect fraud and strengthen security, giving him a close view of how large enterprises actually use, and struggle to use, sensitive data.
Founding Duality Technologies
The Idea Behind Duality
Kaufman has said the idea for Duality grew out of a problem he kept running into at RSA: businesses wanted to collaborate on data, whether within a company, across geographies, or between separate organisations, but privacy, regulation, and competitive concerns made that collaboration difficult or impossible. He saw an opportunity to solve that problem directly rather than work around it.
Building the Founding Team
Duality was formed when Kaufman connected with Rina Shainski, now the company’s Chairwoman, who had already been working with a group of well-known cryptographers on technology that allowed data to be analysed while still encrypted. The founding team went on to include figures such as Shafi Goldwasser, winner of the 2012 ACM Turing Award for her work on cryptography, and Vinod Vaikuntanathan, a professor at MIT. That combination, a data scientist with commercial experience joined by leading academic cryptographers, shaped Duality’s technical direction from the start.
What Duality Technologies Does
Founded in 2016, Duality built a platform for privacy-enhancing technology, allowing organisations to run analysis and artificial intelligence models on data without exposing the underlying information. The company’s approach is aimed squarely at industries where data sharing creates real value, such as fraud detection in banking or research collaboration in healthcare, but where privacy law and IP protection make direct data sharing risky or illegal.
Leadership at Duality
Growing the Company
Under Kaufman’s leadership, Duality has raised funding across multiple rounds and built partnerships with major technology and public sector organisations. In 2026, the company announced a partnership with Red Hat, combining Red Hat’s open hybrid cloud and confidential computing tools with Duality’s privacy-enhancing technology to help governments and regulated industries handle sensitive data securely.
Recognition in the Industry
Duality has been named a Gartner Cool Vendor, listed among Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, and recognised as a Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum. These recognitions reflect the growing demand for privacy-enhancing technology as organisations face tighter data protection regulations worldwide.
Advisory and Public Sector Work
Kaufman built out a Public Sector Advisory Board at Duality to help the company work more closely with government agencies across the US and UK on data sovereignty and secure collaboration. The board has included figures with senior government and intelligence backgrounds, reflecting how seriously public sector organisations have started treating privacy-enhancing technology as core infrastructure rather than a niche tool.
Public Speaking and Industry Contributions
Conference Appearances
Kaufman is a frequent speaker at major technology and security events, including the RSA Conference and the Strata Data Conference, where he has discussed the challenges and opportunities of running machine learning on encrypted data. He has also spoken at Tel Aviv University’s Cyber Week, an event focused on emerging cybersecurity threats and technologies.
Writing and Commentary
Beyond conference appearances, Kaufman has contributed commentary to industry publications such as PaymentsJournal, writing on how crises and uncertainty create openings for fraud and financial crime, drawing on his background in fraud risk analytics.
Patents and Technical Contributions
Across his career, Kaufman has been credited on more than 30 approved US patents spanning artificial intelligence, machine learning, bioinformatics, and cybersecurity, a body of work that reflects his consistent focus on turning research into applicable technology.
Personal Background
Based in Israel
Kaufman is based in Israel, where much of Duality’s technical and research talent is also concentrated, reflecting the country’s broader strength in cybersecurity and cryptography research.
Areas of Expertise
Across more than two decades in the field, Kaufman has developed expertise spanning artificial intelligence, machine learning, bioinformatics, and cybersecurity, a range that mirrors the interdisciplinary nature of privacy-enhancing technology itself.
FAQs
Who is Alon Kaufman?
He is an Israeli data scientist and entrepreneur who co-founded and now leads Duality Technologies, a company specialising in privacy-enhancing technology.
What is Alon Kaufman’s educational background?
He holds a PhD in computational neuroscience and machine learning from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and an MBA from Tel Aviv University.
What did Alon Kaufman do before founding Duality?
He worked at RSA Security, where he rose from head of research for fraud risk analytics to global director of data science and innovation.
What is Duality Technologies known for?
It builds a platform that lets organisations analyse sensitive data and run AI models without exposing the underlying information, serving sectors like banking, healthcare, and government.
How many patents does Alon Kaufman hold?
He has been credited on more than 30 approved US patents across AI, machine learning, bioinformatics, and cybersecurity.
Where does Alon Kaufman speak publicly?
He regularly appears at major industry events, including the RSA Conference, the Strata Data Conference, and Tel Aviv University’s Cyber Week.
Conclusion
Alon Kaufman’s path from computational neuroscience research to leading a privacy technology company reflects a career built around one persistent question: how to unlock the value of data without compromising the people and organisations behind it. That question shaped his years at RSA and continues to define his work at Duality.
As data regulation tightens worldwide and demand grows for secure AI, Kaufman’s work continues to influence how banks, hospitals, and governments think about data collaboration, positioning Duality and Kaufman himself as a consistent reference point in the privacy-enhancing technology field.
