Paris-based startup Zama has secured $73 million in funding to advance its cryptography technology, aimed at bolstering data privacy for blockchain and artificial intelligence projects. The Series A funding round was led by crypto venture fund Multicoin Capital and Filecoin creator Protocol Labs, with participation from Solana blockchain’s co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko and Metaplanet. The firm did not disclose its valuation.

Zama is working on fully homomorphic encryption, enabling computations to be performed on encrypted data. This technology is expected to enhance data privacy and confidentiality for emerging industries like blockchain and AI, as per Zama’s CEO Rand Hindi.

Hindi stated, “We spent three years getting the technology to a point where it’s extremely easy to use,” adding, “So as a developer, you don’t have to know anything about cryptography to use it. You can use it for any application you want.”

Zama currently employs over 75 individuals

Zama currently employs over 75 individuals. The new funding will be utilized to further develop the cryptography technology, expand customer support, and extend the company’s financial runway, according to Hindi.

“The last couple of years have taught us that we cannot expect the market to be stable anymore,” Hindi remarked. “Having a very long-term runway is a way to also make our customers more comfortable working with us as a startup.”