Fhenix Raises $15M and Launches Testnet of Confidentiality-Focused L2
Tel Aviv, Israel, June 5th, 2024, Chainwire
Fhenix, the first confidentiality-enabling Layer 2 blockchain powered by fully homomorphic encryption, today announced the close of a $15M series A fundraising round led by Hack VC with participation from Dao5, Amber Group, Primitive, GSR, Collider and Stake Capital, among others. This brings the project’s total funding to date to $22M. The company plans to use these funds to support the initial stage of its open testnet, dubbed Helium, which will enable developers to deploy smart contracts to the Fhenix network for the first time.
Fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) is a novel form of cryptography that allows data to be computed blindly without ever needing to be decrypted. Fhenix is the first blockchain to natively integrate FHE in order to deliver an EVM-compatible smart contract platform that allows developers to encrypt all or part of their Solidity-based applications using familiar tools without any prior knowledge of FHE encryption.
“My life’s work has been research into secure computation with the goal of bringing confidentiality onchain. After exploring every available technical solution to this problem I came to the conclusion FHE is the best possible solution. The launch of the Fhenix testnet is an important step towards bringing encrypted computation onchain,” Guy Zyskind, co-founder of Fhenix.
FHE’s unique ability to enable the computation of encrypted data unlocks a slew of new use cases for developers. From confidential voting to blind auctions, decentralized identity, DeFi, AI, gaming, and more, Fhenix is creating a whole new design space for blockchain application developers to realize their visions.
“After scaling, confidentiality is the next major hurdle Ethereum needs to solve in order to reach mainstream adoption. FHE is the most elegant solution to the problem of encryption because, unlike existing confidentiality solutions based on zero knowledge technology, it allows for end-to-end computation of encrypted data,” said Guy Itzhaki, CEO of Fhenix. “The significant amount of inbound interest we received from investors is a strong testament to the value FHE represents for blockchain.”
Fhenix recently announced a technical partnership with EigenLayer around the development of FHE Coprocessors, which enable host chains–whether that be Ethereum itself, L2s, or L3s–to offload specific computational tasks to a designated processor, enabling developers on any EVM-compatible chain to integrate encrypted computation into their application logic.
Following the fundraise and successful testnet launch, the project will now focus on continued testing and development with an eventual launch to mainnet. In the meantime, Fhenix would like developers to begin deploying their smart contracts to its open testnet and apply for early access to its grants program.
About Fhenix
Fhenix is the first Ethereum Layer 2 to enable confidential smart contracts using Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE), a novel cryptographic scheme that enables computation of encrypted data. Fhenix is EVM-equivalent, enabling developers to write their smart contracts in Solidity using the developer tools they’re familiar with and selectively encrypt them using FHE.
Fhenix’s goal is to advance Ethereum application development by bringing confidentiality to smart contracts, transactions, and onchain assets for the first time. To learn more, please visit https://www.fhenix.io/
About Hack VC
Hack VC is a Web3 venture capital firm who partners with on and off-chain builders creating the future of the internet. It’s managing partners were among the earliest institutional investors to focus on Web3.
Learn more at https://www.hack.vc/
