Chain Reaction Raises $70 Million to Accelerate Blockchain-Focused Silicon Development
Tel Aviv-based blockchain startup Chain Reaction has announced that it has raised $70 million as part of its Series C funding round. The round was led by Morgan Creek Digital, part of Morgan Creek Capital, and saw the participation of Hanaco Ventures, Jerusalem Venture Partners, KCK Capital, Exor, Atreides Management, and Blue Run Ventures.
The objective of the company is to expand its engineering staff to accelerate the production of its blockchain-focused silicon and collaborate in the development of its cryptographic-focused chips. The mass production of the first batch of chips, called “Electrum,” is expected to start in Q1 2023.
Electrum is a highly efficient ASIC chip designed for bitcoin mining, a field dominated by companies like Bitmain. The fabless startup enlisted the services of TSMC, one of the biggest foundries in Taiwan, to mass produce the chips.
Chain Reaction also aims to use its first batch of blockchain chips as a trampoline to developing more advanced silicon, designed to tackle cryptographic problems. The more advanced chips would be centered around a technique called homomorphic encryption, which allegedly could allow them to make operations with encrypted data without decrypting it in the first place.
The company is optimistic about having a solution for this cryptographic issue, even with today’s limited processing capabilities. Chain Reaction co-founder and CEO Alon Webman stated: “We think our solution will make homomorphic encryption viable. We have unique architecture and we also understand the limitations on compute and memory among processors today. We have the solution needed to make it possible.”
Chain Reaction expects to launch this chip sometime at the end of 2024. With the new funding, the company is well-positioned to make its vision a reality and revolutionize the blockchain industry.