Statement: This article is not broad; it is purely a research into the potential and development expectations of the project. Those who do not want to see the analysis can go directly to the summary at the end.
1️⃣ Project Positioning
A privacy protocol layer constructed from the combination of FHE + MPC + ZK. It allows for transaction verification without fully disclosing all transaction information. Essentially, it is an FHE infrastructure.
2️⃣ Project Background
Currently, there have been two rounds of fundraising, with core investors mainly being lead investors Multicoin Capital, Protocol Labs, Pantera Capital, and Blockchange. Angel investors include the founder of Polkadot, former Ethereum CTO Gavin Wood, and Solana co-founder and CEO Anatoly Yakovenko, among others.
3️⃣ Team Background
➣ Rand Hindi @randhindi, co-founder and CEO of Zama. He has extensive entrepreneurial experience and several years of experience related to privacy and AI. He is currently a partner at a VC and an advisor to multiple institutions/projects.
➣ Pascal Paillier @pascal_paillier, co-founder and CTO of Zama. He has been involved in cryptography since 1996 and is also an advisor to multiple companies and a member of the French delegation to ISO/IEC JTC1 SC27, having participated in the drafting of two ISO/IEC-related standards.
Here, I will use GPT to supplement the value of the following two experiences in the field of cryptography.
ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 27 is the international standardization subcommittee for information security, network security, and privacy protection. Serving as an Editor or Co-Editor indicates not only participation in discussions but also the authority to draft, modify, or even decide on standard contents, marking a highly core role; moreover, France is one of the main countries involved in international standard-setting, and being a cryptography expert in the French delegation, having served for over 15 years, indicates recognition at the national level as an authoritative technology expert.
➣ Jeremy Bradley-Silverio Donato @jeremycbradley, COO of Zama. His work experience is very unique, primarily revolving around various universities/colleges/online education, without significant Crypto Native experience.
➣ Marc Joye, Zama's chief scientist. With a background in mathematics, he has served as a researcher in the UCL Crypto Group. From the papers and books he has published, he has been conducting relevant cryptography research and successfully attacked version 1.5 of RSA (which can be queried independently). However, his work experience is not closely tied to cryptography, giving a sense of working while researching, and there is no separate profile on Wikipedia/Baidu Encyclopedia.
➣ Most of the remaining members' experiences are primarily from traditional industries, with almost no Crypto Native experience.
4️⃣ Fundraising Background
A total of two rounds of fundraising have been completed; the project was initiated in 2019, but both rounds of funding were completed in this funding cycle.
The first round of funding was $73 million, and the second round valued at $1 billion raised $57 million, accounting for 5.7% of the funding. Blockchange invested in both rounds.
This valuation is very high considering the current market environment, and FHE, like my previous analysis of Boundless, belongs to the necessary but non-profitable infrastructure track alongside ZK. This can be seen from the fundraising lineup, which consists of projects that leading European and American institutions would consider for 'value investment'.
5️⃣ Participation Method
On the 7.1, the official first phase of the testnet was launched, but there has been no clear indication of how to participate. However, it is likely still the same process of running nodes.
6️⃣ Overall Evaluation
The practical value of this project far outweighs its speculative value, making it a solid FHE infrastructure protocol.
The FHE track is more of a B2B track, with retail investors having a weaker experience. The biggest issue with the FHE track is that it does not generate profit. Although the demand for ZK in this track is necessary, there are few sources of profit, and most of it is maintained through B2B cooperation.
From the investment background, the project mainly involves leading European and American institutions, which often have a branch for investing in infrastructure that is not primarily profit-driven. On one hand, this serves as long-term value investment; on the other hand, the valuation of infrastructure tracks is generally high, allowing for more funds to be raised by boosting infrastructure valuations while also raising the market rate for the industry.
From the team's background, Zama does not quite count as a nominal Crypto product. None of the members have native industry experience, and the project started in 2019 but only began fundraising in 2024, which presents a contradiction. Personally, I speculate that they are likely looking to cash out.
The chief scientist mentioned earlier does not have a profile. It is important to know that the salary of a cryptography expert is quite considerable; weekly or even daily pay can rival the monthly salary in other industries. The more specialized the field, the more likely it is to be included in relevant encyclopedias.
Additionally, the participation methods for such projects are too few, and their connection with tokens is not tight. Therefore, I personally believe that the cost-effectiveness of participation is very low.