What is Fabric Cryptography?

The Privacy-Centric Company Developing a New Innovation Called VPU

The Launchy Team
August 20, 2024

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Privacy in decentralised technology remains a significant concern, even as blockchain networks promise security and transparency.

Despite decentralisation, certain practices, such as linking accounts to email IDs or phone numbers, can undermine privacy, posing a challenge to the fundamental principles of blockchain.

Fabric Cryptography, however, is determined to tackle this issue head-on. The company is pioneering an innovation called the Verifiable Processing Unit (VPU), designed to merge the strengths of GPUs and ASICs, with a sharp focus on scalability and privacy.

What is Fabric Cryptography?

Fabric Cryptography is a company that focuses on privacy and scalability solutions, specifically for blockchains.

The company is trying to overcome the blockchain trilemma—balancing scalability, decentralisation, and security—by developing a unique processing architecture.

Their flagship product, the VPU, is helping blockchain technology to ensure that privacy and scalability are at the forefront without compromising decentralisation.

Dubbed the “NVIDIA of privacy tech,” Fabric Cryptography is dedicated to advancing blockchain technology by creating a processor that is custom-built for the specific demands of cryptography.

The VPU is designed to support privacy-preserving applications, ensuring that blockchain networks can scale while maintaining the utmost privacy for users.

The Recent $33M Funding

Recently, Fabric Cryptography secured $33M in a funding round, underscoring investor confidence in their approach to enhancing privacy in blockchain.

1/ We're thrilled to announce that Fabric Cryptography has raised $33M in Series A funding to accelerate advanced cryptography workloads with our general purpose chip – the Verifiable Processing Unit (VPU).
— Fabric Cryptography (@FabricCrypto)
8:47 PM • Aug 19, 2024

The round saw backing from notable figures in both the tech and crypto industries such as Blockchain Capital and 1kx Network, who see the VPU as a potential game-changer. This capital will be used to further develop the VPU, refine its capabilities, and expand the company’s operations.

The VPU’s architecture aims to enhance the performance of cryptographic workloads, making it a key component for future blockchain networks that require high privacy and scalability standards.

What is the Verifiable Processing Unit (VPU)?

The Verifiable Processing Unit (VPU) is designed specifically for cryptographic purposes focusing on privacy and scalability of the architecture of the network being supplemented.

The value proposition of the VPU from the hardware, software, and platform perspectives

The main focus of this product is to enhance the scalability and privacy aspect of the overall validators on a blockchain network through their validator’s hardware.

Unlike conventional processors, the VPU integrates the best aspects of GPUs and ASICs to create a processing unit that excels in performance and privacy.

The VPU boasts several advanced features:

Finite-Field Arithmetic: Accelerates modular arithmetic, essential for many cryptographic algorithms, handling calculations with precision and speed.
Optimised Primitives: Custom instructions designed to enhance hash functions, ensuring data integrity and security in blockchain applications.
Software-Defined Data Movement: Fine-tuned workload performance with high-speed memory access, crucial for maintaining the high throughput required by modern blockchain networks.

These features make the VPU a crucial tool for supporting advanced cryptographic techniques like Zero Knowledge Proofs (ZKP) and Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE), both of which are vital for privacy in blockchain technology.

How Does it Affect Zero Knowledge Proofs (ZKP) and Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE)?

Zero Knowledge Proofs (ZKP) allow one party to prove to another that a statement is true without revealing any additional information.

This technology is crucial in blockchain applications that prioritise privacy, as it enables transaction verification without exposing sensitive data.

Illustration of Zero Knowledge Proofs

The implementation of this mechanism is in blockchain technology, where a validator validates a transaction without needing to know what the details of that data are.

This increases scalability because the validators need less time to validate the data, while at the same time protecting the privacy of the user’s transaction data.

Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE), on the other hand, allows computations to be performed on encrypted data without needing to decrypt it.

This ensures that data remains private and secure, even during processing, which is a critical requirement for storing sensitive information on public blockchains.

The VPU is designed to significantly enhance the performance of both ZKP and FHE. By accelerating the complex cryptographic calculations required by these technologies, the VPU enables them to be deployed at scale without sacrificing performance.

As the main value of the VPU itself is enhancing privacy and scalability, both of these mechanisms can fully benefit from this innovation.

Conclusion

Fabric Cryptography is at the forefront of addressing privacy concerns in the blockchain space with its innovative Verifiable Processing Unit (VPU).

By combining the strengths of GPUs and ASICs, the VPU offers a unique solution that addresses the challenges of scalability and privacy in decentralised networks.

With the recent $33 million funding, Fabric Cryptography is well-positioned to continue developing the VPU and solidify its role as a key player in the blockchain industry.

The VPU’s ability to support advanced cryptographic techniques like ZKP and FHE underscores its importance in the future of blockchain technology, where privacy and scalability are paramount.

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Disclaimer: All the information presented in this publication and its affiliates is strictly for educational purposes only. It should not be construed or taken as financial, legal, investment, or any other form of advice.