Ingonyama, a semiconductor company, has successfully raised $20 million in a seed funding round, marking a significant milestone in its journey. The funding round was led by Walden Catalyst, a leading investor also associated with AI21 Labs, and included notable venture capital funds such as Geometry based in London, BlueYard Capital in Germany, Samsung Next, Sentinel Global, and others. Several participating companies in this round, including Israeli firm StarkWare, heavily rely on zero-knowledge proof technology in their product offerings.
Ingonyama’s CEO and Co-Founder, Omer Shlomovits, emphasized the strategic selection of investors who possess a profound understanding of cryptography, the core field in which Ingonyama operates. Shlomovits highlighted the company’s focus on developing technology that enhances privacy in previously challenging environments.
This venture marks Shlomovits’ third entrepreneurial endeavor, with his previous experience including a four-year tenure at crypto company Zango, where he worked on cryptography and open-source code. Reflecting on his journey, Shlomovits expressed a preference for the initial stages of company development.
Founded in 2022, Ingonyama is headquartered in Petah Tikva with a team of approximately 25 professionals. Shlomovits, a graduate of the elite IDF intelligence Unit 8200, leads the company alongside CTO Michael Asa and VP R&D Danny Sterman, both seasoned engineers with extensive experience in the chip industry.
Ingonyama distinguishes itself as a next-generation semiconductor company, and its inaugural chip is a programmable parallel computing processor, akin to a GPU. However, it is explicitly designed to accelerate advanced cryptography, with a focus on zero-knowledge proofs and fully homomorphic encryption. As the company works towards the completion of its chip, it currently collaborates with GPUs, developing open-source software that efficiently runs the same cryptography.
As I come to a close, it is important to reiterate that Ingonyama’s successful seed funding round underscores the recognition of its potential in the semiconductor space. With a focus on advanced cryptography, zero-knowledge proofs, and fully homomorphic encryption, Ingonyama is poised to contribute significantly to the evolving landscape of secure and private technologies. As the company progresses, it remains dedicated to leveraging its expertise to develop innovative solutions in the semiconductor realm.
