French startup Zama is making strides in its mission to enable computation on encrypted data without the need for decryption. The company recently secured $73 million in a Series A funding round led by major investors Multicoin Capital and Protocol Labs. Zama’s CEO, Rand Hindi, announced the successful raise on March 7, stating that it aims to promote the use of the company’s Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) technology. Hindi describes FHE as the “holy grail of cryptography,” as it allows for data privacy while still enabling information processing in operations like cloud computing.
Zama’s FHE technology works by allowing users to perform mathematical operations on encrypted data without ever revealing the actual message. Pascal Paillier, Zama’s chief technology officer, compares FHE to a “magical box” where users can lock away their secret message. He explains that Zama has already attracted significant clients, including Shiba Inu, which is using the FHE technology to enhance on-chain privacy. Paillier also emphasizes that Zama’s solution has achieved a breakthrough in balancing on-chain transparency and off-chain privacy.
Zama’s goal is to make FHE more accessible and efficient for developers, empowering businesses to leverage cloud computing and other technologies without compromising privacy. The company plans to create user-friendly tools, libraries, and platforms that integrate FHE into everyday digital services, making it easier for firms to adopt advanced encryption without specialized knowledge. With Zama’s solution, developers can execute confidential smart contracts on encrypted data without sacrificing confidentiality or composability.
In conclusion, Zama’s innovative FHE technology is set to revolutionize data privacy and enable secure computation in various industries. With its recent funding, the company is well-positioned to drive the adoption of this advanced encryption technology.