Why Hack VC Led Nillion’s Series A: Our Not-So-Private Investment Thesis
By Alex Botte, Partner at Hack VC
At Hack VC, we partner with the boldest founders in Web3 – folks who are building the most cutting-edge blockchain technology. This is exactly why we led Nillion’s Series A. Nillion is developing "humanity's first blind computer," tackling privacy-preserving computation much like blockchains tackled trustless transactions.
Why Privacy Matters
We’re entering a data gold rush, with exponential growth in both data volume and sensitivity. Yet, the centralization of trust stands in the way of fully unlocking value from that data. Think about personal AI: if you want AI that’s truly personalized, it’ll need everything you’ve ever written, photographed, and recorded. But most folks aren’t too keen on handing over their entire digital life to a single, centralized entity.
And it’s not just individuals that have concerns about data privacy. Large enterprises have banned GPT tools because they don’t want sensitive internal information floating around. Industries like healthcare, finance, and government work under strict regulations, where data leaks or compliance failures can be devastating.
Data privacy isn’t just about dodging Big Brother or corporate snooping – it’s the key to letting innovation flourish in a safe, secure way.
Nillion’s Solution
Nillion aims to solve these privacy concerns by offering decentralized infrastructure that processes sensitive data without ever exposing it. Their system uses Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs) to ensure data stays under wraps, even while being computed on.
Here’s the hundred-foot view:
- You (or your enterprise) upload private data into Nillion’s network.
- The network generates a “blinding factor” that combines with your data, creating “particles.”
- These particles are then spread among multiple nodes for blind computation.
- The final computation result is returned, without any single node seeing the entire dataset.
The company's technical architecture consists of three interconnected layers:
- Processing Layer: A bunch of nodes running Nillion’s Node Deployment Kit (NDK). They form clusters that collectively process your data, but not a single node can see the whole picture.
- Coordination Layer: A specialized blockchain environment that handles payments, requests, and resource management. Unlike your typical general-purpose chain, this one is thin and focused on privacy.
- Connectivity Layer: This is the bridge between Nillion’s secure computing world and everything else, letting other blockchains and apps tap into Nillion’s privacy-preserving powers.
All of these layers are woven together with novel PETs. Think MPC, ZK, TEEs, and maybe even FHE down the road. Nillion’s approach is modular: no single PET is a silver bullet, so they’re mixing and matching to find the right solution for each use case.
Use Cases
Personal AI is a massive opportunity. Imagine a future where your AI assistant can handle your most sensitive data securely. But the use cases don’t stop there. Healthcare, DeFi, gaming, finance, basically any sector that cares about confidential or regulated data could benefit from Nillion’s “blind compute.”
In terms of Nillion’s traction, there are already big Web3 names onboard. Nillion has teamed up with NEAR, Arbitrum, Aptos, and others. One of our own portfolio companies, Ritual, is already using Nillion to build private AI solutions. See here for the full Nillion ecosystem.
The Team Behind the Tech
Another reason we’re so bullish on Nillion is the pedigree of the folks making it happen. Their Chief Scientist is behind 30+ patents focused on data optimization. Their Chief Strategy Officer co-founded Hedera Hashgraph, a Layer 1 blockchain that’s achieved a multi-billion-dollar token valuation. Their team brings experience from Goldman Sachs, Nike, and Coinbase. An all-star roster.
The Road Ahead
We believe Nillion’s technology could become the go-to infrastructure for the next wave of privacy-preserving apps and protocols in Web3. With a lean Layer 1 that’s all about modular privacy, developers can pick and choose what they want to keep hidden versus what they want to publish on-chain.
We’re thrilled to support Nillion. If you’re in the market for some top-notch, privacy-focused compute to power your AI, DeFi app, or anything else that needs to stay private, reach out to the Nillion team. We’re excited to see what they build next and proud to be part of their journey.
Disclaimer
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