Inco’s mission is to address this pressing confidentiality need in Web3. They recently raised $5 million in a Series A strategic round to continue their work. Andreessen Horowitz Crypto Startup Accelerator (a16z CSX) is leading the investment with a9d. This funding advances Inco’s goal of building a confidentiality technology layer for the blockchain stack. If successful, we’ll leverage the funding to accelerate development and market adoption of Inco Lightning. This breakthrough technology is designed to bring confidentiality to every application on-chain. This launch on Base Sepolia addresses an existential issue that has challenged widespread Web3 adoption. It features plans to power a dozen or more L1 and L2 blockchains — from Ethereum down to Base.

Addressing Blockchain's Key Challenges

Perhaps the biggest challenge to mass blockchain adoption is the absence of inherent confidentiality. Transactions and data on most blockchains are public, so anyone can look up their activity. This poses significant obstacles for a wide range of possible use cases. That’s particularly worrisome for those that interact with sensitive financial information, personal data, or proprietary business strategies. Inco, though, is very much set on pushing the bounds of these constraints. It provides the much-needed confidentiality layer that allows developers to build applications with the privacy controls users are used to in Web2, alongside the benefits of decentralization and trustlessness found in Web3.

Overcoming Final Hurdles

This loss of confidentiality has been an aggravation among businesses and people for a long time. This limitation prevents the technology’s full potential. Secondly, businesses are very reluctant to store or conduct sensitive transactions on a public ledger. People are intimidated by presenting their financial activities to the world. Inco’s technology aims to remove these worries with the promise of customizable on-chain confidentiality without any trusted parties involved. This is achieved through the use of Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE), which allows computations to be performed on encrypted data without decrypting it first. This guarantees that personally identifiable information is kept private and secure, including during the data collection process.

Enhancing Developer Engagement

Inco’s solution makes the development process easier by enabling developers to plug confidentiality features into their existing applications with minimal effort. This is a big deal, because enabling developers to build privacy-preserving applications without significant complexity and expense is critical. With Inco Lightning, developers can focus on creating innovative and user-friendly applications without having to worry about the intricacies of cryptographic implementations.

Broadening Real-World Applications

Inco’s technology applications are enormous and touch almost every sector in the supply chain—from food to cosmetics. Inco makes possible both confidential on-chain transactions and off-chain secure data management. This innovation is poised to unlock the next generation of decentralized finance (DeFi), gaming, supply chain management, and more. The company's strategic partnerships with Tally, Blocklive, and Toku further demonstrate the diverse range of use cases that can benefit from enhanced privacy.

Expanding Use Cases for Developers

Inco’s technology not only improves existing public blockchain-use cases, it allows use-cases that were otherwise impractical or impossible on public blockchains. Here are a few examples:

  • Confidential On-Chain Voting: Secure and private voting mechanisms for DAOs and other organizations.
  • Private Event Ticketing: Discreet and secure ticketing systems that protect user privacy.
  • Secure Payroll: Confidential payroll processing that keeps employee salaries and financial information private.
  • DeFi: Confidential trading, lending, and borrowing.
  • Gaming: Private in-game transactions and asset ownership.

Inco’s technology has a variety of applications. Here are a few examples of how it can help developers create more secure and privacy-respecting applications.

Increasing Accessibility for Users

Inco makes it easier to build confidentiality features into projects. All of this combines to make it easier for developers to create highly interactive consumer-facing applications with privacy by default. This is a key step to driving Web3 into the mainstream. Users are going to adopt platforms that not only protect their personal information, but actively protect their financial data. Inco stands behind accessibility for all. This commitment makes it possible for developers of all skill levels — even those with limited knowledge of cryptography — to utilize and implement its technology with ease.

Commitment to Onchain Privacy

At Inco, we believe that privacy is a human right. It’s this faith in the power and potential of people that leads them to their mission of fostering a prosperous Web3 community. The company’s broader mission is to empower the world’s developers. They give you the groundwork to build applications that respect user privacy and adapt with evolving regulatory requirements. With a privacy-forward approach, Inco is leading the way. We believe this action will help create a more safe and reputable ecosystem for everyone participating in the blockchain industry to experience.

Establishing Privacy as a Standard

Inco has been hard at work developing this innovative technology. Simultaneously, it heralds a larger move toward the establishment of privacy-preserving practices across the blockchain industry. The company works closely with these groups of developers, researchers, and policymakers. They raise awareness, advocate for privacy, and lead in the creation of innovative new standards and codes of practice. By instilling a culture of privacy, Inco aims to build a more sustainable and equitable Web3 ecosystem.

Importance of Privacy in Blockchain

Certainly privacy is one of the key components to building trust and confidence in blockchain technology. However, without strong privacy measures in place, users will likely be unwilling to use Dapps. They are concerned that their PII will be exposed or misused. Inco’s technology effectively solves this fear in a way that’s practical and reliable, letting operators protect their sensitive data. Through its unwavering commitment to privacy, Inco aims to provide a more secure, convenient Web3 experience.

Building a Supportive Community

Inco knows that an active, engaged, and supportive community is key to realizing a build-collaborate-earn connected privacy layer for Web3. It’s really more than just the tech. As one example of many, the company is very active in cultivating this vibrant and growing network of passionate developers, researchers, users and others. They are collectively focused on pushing the state of the art in both blockchain technology and privacy.

Growing Network of Advocates

Inco is focused on nurturing a community of developers, users, and advocates who believe in its mission of creating a privacy-centric Web3. The company hosts workshops, webinars, and other events to educate and engage with the community, providing developers with the resources they need to build privacy-preserving applications. Inco encourages a creative and collaborative atmosphere. This agile and experimental approach ensures rapid technology adoption and propels innovation throughout the blockchain ecosystem.

Collaborative Efforts in the Ecosystem

Inco is consistently collaborating with other projects/organizations, especially academic initiatives in the blockchain ecosystem both locally and globally. Combined, they raise the visibility of privacy and advocate for and propel the creation of new privacy-enhancing technologies. These collaborations have recently featured partnerships with some of the nation’s preeminent academic institutions, key open-source projects, and industry consortia. Through collaboration, Inco and its partners hope to build a safer, privacy-respecting Web3 environment for everyone.

Significant Achievements in the Field

Inco has already reached a number of impactful milestones in its mission to bring confidentiality to Web3. The company recently announced the close of a $5 million round of funding led by a16z CSX. This significant victory for the company is a success story of the growing need and demand for privacy solutions in the blockchain ecosystem. Quickly becoming a household name, Inco Lightning just deployed on Base Sepolia! This first big victory is the culmination of our achievement to end programmable on-chain confidentiality.

Recent Milestones Reached

Now, Inco has raised a new funding round and released Inco Lightning. Beyond this, it has built strategic partnerships with Tally, Blocklive and Toku, exemplifying the real world use cases for its technology. These collaborations show the diverse ways that improved privacy can have impact. From private on-chain balloting to encrypted payroll management. In March 2024, Inco closed a $4.5 million seed round, co-led by 1kx. This first funding shot the capital that Inco needed to get their core technology out the door and into the world.

Impact on Future Developments

Inco's achievements are not just milestones in the company's own journey. They have a broader impact on the future of Web3. Inco is providing a proof of concept for the value and technical feasibility of programmable on-chain confidentiality. This innovation is leading to a new wave of decentralized applications focused on security and privacy first. It’s the company’s technology that’s best positioned to unlock use cases and propel this technology into mainstream adoption. It has a goal of developing a more reliable and fair Web3 space.

Introduction to Inco

Founded in 2023, Inco emerged with a clear vision: to address the pressing need for privacy solutions within the burgeoning Web3 landscape. Inco understood that the very transparency of blockchain technology complicates matters when it comes to sensitive applications. To remedy this lack, they began to work on a true general-purpose privacy solution for Ethereum and other networks.

Overview of Inco's Mission

Inco’s mission is to level the playing field for developers. We arm them with the best tools to make user-focused privacy tech apps that truly lean into decentralization and trustlessness. The company envisions a world where privacy is not only a basic human right, but the backbone of a prosperous Web3 universe. With programmable on-chain confidentiality, Inco’s goal is to give developers the tools they need to build a more secure, personalized, and user-friendly Web3 experience.

Contributions to the Blockchain Space

Inco’s contributions to the blockchain space go beyond its core technology. The company’s impact goes far beyond the vehicles themselves as they are deeply embedded in research, advocacy, and community building. Beyond a commitment to collaboration, Inco encourages an atmosphere that values privacy and builds deep trust. It’s this approach that is helping to realize the future of Web3 — a more sustainable and equitable ecosystem for all participants. Inco has developed and launched Inco Lightning and is currently working on its FHE-based solution. With these innovations, Inco is poised to drive the industry forward in placing confidentiality at the forefront of the blockchain ecosystem.