Crypto Firm RISC Zero Raises $40M in Blockchain Capital-Led Round

• Blockchain Capital led a $40M Series A round for RISC Zero, a startup that creates developer tooling for zero-knowledge proof software.
• The funds will be used to bring RISC Zero’s Bonsai computing platform to market and other investors include Galaxy Digital, IOSG, RockawayX and more.
• RISC Zero previously raised $12 million in Aug 2022 in a Bain Capital-led seed funding round.

RISC Zero Raises $40 Million

Finance firm Blockchain Capital has led a $40 million Series A round of financing for RISC Zero , enabling the startup to bring its Bonsai computing platform to market. The funding round was joined by many other investors including Galaxy Digital, IOSG, RockawayX, Maven 11, Fenbushi Capital, Delphi Digital, Algaé Ventures, IOBC, Tribute Labs’ Zero Dao and Alchemy.

What is RISC Zero?

RISC Zero is the creator of infrastructure that helps developers build zero-knowledge proof software. This type of software uses cryptography to validate transactions while preserving privacy at the same time. In March 2021 they released an open source virtual machine called zkVM which allows developers to create zk proofs that can be executed on any computer using traditional or blockchain based programming languages.

What is Bonsai Computing Platform?

The Bonsai computing platform is a decentralized proving engine which allows developers to easily integrate zk proofs into their applications and chains for improved security and computational power. This technology would make it easier for new crypto developers as it requires fewer restrictions on the complexity of the code than existing solutions do.

Previous Funding Round

Before this series A funding round took place in July 2023; RISC had previously raised 12 million dollars in August 2022 in a seed funding round which was led by Bain Capital Ventures.

Conclusion

This successful Series A round shows that infrastructure projects are still gaining capital despite the extended crypto winter period we are currently experiencing. It also highlights just how important zero knowledge proofs are becoming in terms of providing improved security and computational power for developers working with cryptocurrencies and blockchains