RISC Zero announced Wednesday it raised $40 million to boost adoption of its flagship product that helps developers build applications with zero-knowledge proofs, a complex blockchain-based protocol that proves something is true without revealing specific information.
- The Seattle-based startup said it is using the fresh cash to roll out Bonsai, a computing platform that lets developers build zero-knowledge applications in languages including Rust and C++.
- RISC Zero is led by CEO Brian Retford, a former software engineering manager at Intel Movidius. He is joined by CTO Frank Laub, a former deep learning compiler engineer at Intel Labs, and chief scientific officer Jeremy Bruestle, a co-founder and board member of Seattle DNA analysis startup Spiral Genetics.
- The company previously landed $12 million in August in a seed round led by Bain Capital Crypto. The Series A round was led by Blockchain Capital and Bain Capital Crypto, with participation other investors Galaxy Digital, IOSG, RockawayX, Maven 11, Fenbushi Capital, and others.
