Staff Writer • 2024-08-19
MIT and Stanford dropouts team up with AI veterans to create a chip that brings a new kind of mathematical trust to our digital interactions. With tens of millions of pre-orders, Fabric closes in on the ‘holy-grail’ breakthrough of cryptography. California, US - As data science and machine learning have become increasingly embedded in our daily lives, the demand for greater privacy guarantees has surged. Users, businesses, and regulators alike are seeking robust solutions to safeguard sensitive information without compromising the utility of big data. Enter the next generation of cryptography—a promising frontier poised to revolutionize the balance between privacy and data utilization. However, just as artificial intelligence has necessitated innovations in computing hardware and algorithms, the adoption of these cutting-edge cryptographic techniques will require a similar coordinated effort. Silicon Valley startup Fabric Cryptography has emerged as a frontrunner in this endeavor, announcing today the successful closure of a $33 million Series A funding round. The funds will be used to develop a suite of computing chips, software, and cryptographic algorithms designed to push the boundaries of digital trust. This funding round was co-led by Blockchain Capital and 1kx, with participation from notable industry leaders such as Offchain Labs, Polygon, and Matter Labs. The latest investment follows a $6 million seed round led by Metaplanet, with participation from Inflection and Liquid2 Ventures, bringing Fabric’s total funds raised to $39 million. Founded by MIT and Stanford dropouts Michael Gao and Tina Ju, alongside hardware veterans like Sagar Reddy, Fabric Cryptography aims to pioneer a new era in secure computing through the creation of the Verifiable Processing Unit (VPU). Drawing inspiration from the advanced hardware-software codesign techniques seen in AI hardware, the VPU is set to become the first processing unit specifically designed for cryptography. Much like Nvidia’s GPUs have transformed the AI landscape, the VPU is poised to revolutionize cryptography. Most people associate cryptography with the protection of data through encryption and authentication. However, as Fabric Cryptography’s Co-Founder and CEO Michael Gao explains, “There exists a whole world of advanced cryptographic algorithms that go beyond protecting our data and can begin to guarantee trust if we can run them efficiently. Billions of dollars have been poured into better AI chips of all kinds, but researchers and industry projects in cryptography have had to settle with CPUs or GPUs, which were never made for the kind of intensive math that advanced cryptography uses.” The VPU stands as a groundbreaking innovation, marking the first custom silicon chip built around an instruction set architecture specifically tailored for cryptography. This design enables any cryptographic algorithm to be broken down into its mathematical components, which are natively accelerated and supported by the chip. Set to enter production later this year, the VPU promises to drastically improve the speed and cost-efficiency of running advanced cryptographic workloads, outpacing conventional CPUs, GPUs, and fixed-function cryptography accelerators. Fabric Cryptography is introducing the VPU at a critical juncture in the development of cryptographic algorithms that extend beyond basic encryption. The VPU is designed to support emerging techniques like Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs), which allow for the verification of facts about a dataset without revealing the data itself; Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE), enabling secure computation on private data; and Multi-Party Computation (MPC), which facilitates collaboration between parties that may not fully trust each other. “Supporting cryptographers’ most ambitious ideas is core to the Fabric mission, because of the power these ideas could have anywhere we interact with the digital world. Our mission is to scale the speed and availability of next-gen cryptography through exponential advances across the hardware and software stack. We’ll know we’ve succeeded when trust and privacy are foundational to every digital interaction,” added Michael Gao. One of the first markets to benefit from Fabric’s advanced cryptography is the blockchain sector, where ZKPs play a pivotal role in scaling decentralized infrastructure. The demand is already evident, with Fabric having secured tens of millions of dollars in pre-orders for their VPUs. Beyond blockchain, Fabric is developing a comprehensive software stack to make this new technology accessible to developers, with additional algorithms aimed at preserving personal data privacy when using AI models in the cloud. “What sets the VPU apart is its unique combination of programmability, flexibility, and performance,” said Dr. Wei Dai, cryptographer and research partner at 1kx. “The VPU can be programmed to run virtually any cryptographic workload efficiently using its innovative instruction set. Unlike other fixed-function chips, which are common in cryptography, the VPU is future-proof — it can adapt to new cryptography algorithms as they are developed and productized.” The Series A funding will accelerate the development of Fabric’s next-generation VPU chips and expand its software and cryptography teams to meet growing market demand. With a vision to bring privacy and trust guarantees to sectors like AI, finance, MedTech, and insurance, Fabric Cryptography is poised to play a transformative role in the future of digital interactions. “We could not be more thrilled to partner with Fabric on their mission to accelerate all cryptographic operations with the world’s first VPU to help bring about a world where privacy and verifiability are non-negotiable components of all digital systems,” said Yuan Han Li, an investor at Blockchain Capital. About Fabric Cryptography Fabric is a pioneering full-stack company encompassing semiconductor, software, and cloud solutions, founded by MIT and Stanford dropouts with AI supercomputing veterans to revolutionize digital trust and privacy through next-generation cryptography. With a team of over 50 AI hardware and software engineers and cryptographers from companies such as Nvidia, Google, Amazon, Groq, and Cerebras, Fabric’s mission is to develop the Verifiable Processing Unit (VPU). The VPU is the first general-purpose, fully programmable chip for cutting-edge cryptography such as zero-knowledge proofs (ZKP) and fully homomorphic encryption (FHE). Fabric has raised $39 million in funding to date and received tens of millions of dollars in VPU pre-orders for shipments beginning later this year. About Blockchain Capital Based in San Francisco and New York, Blockchain Capital was the first venture capital firm to invest exclusively in the blockchain technology sector. Founded in 2013 by Bart and Brad Stephens, Blockchain Capital has funded over 100 founders with the principal mission of helping these entrepreneurs build world-class companies based on blockchain technology. About 1kx 1kx is a leading venture investment firm that partners with forward-thinking founders and protocols to help grow the crypto ecosystem. Founded in 2018 and supported by a team of leading engineers, investors, and entrepreneurs, 1kx takes a collaborative, hands-on approach to help the best and brightest minds in web3 grow and scale their platforms and build lasting community-driven networks.
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