Samsung NEXT official website: www.samsungnext.com
According to Raymond Liao, General Manager of Samsung Next, Samsung Next is a venture capital company focused on investing in areas such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, and metaverse.
The limitations of complete transparency and scalability hinder the growth of blockchain applications and emphasize the need for unified, unlicensed, and private solutions.
Aleo is a private application platform that uses zero knowledge cryptography. Aleo blockchain is based on a novel consensus protocol aimed at proving faster and more efficient than traditional models by utilizing zero knowledge (ZK). ZK is a cryptographic technique that allows both parties to verify information without sharing underlying data. The result is unique scalability advantages with privacy and off chain computing.
We believe that Aleo’s solution will enable private and scalable decentralized applications. That’s why, together with Softbank Vision Fund 2 and other investors, we conducted a $70 million B+round of financing for Aleo. Prior to this round of financing, Kora Capital and Softbank Vision Fund 2 led an oversubscribed $200 million B-round financing. The company’s early A-round financing was led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z).
The cornerstone of Aleo’s solution is zkCloud, which includes both snakOS blockchain and snakVM, an off chain private environment for large-scale transaction processing. Aleo blockchain sniffOS is a decentralized network composed of nodes running novel and concise proof of consensus protocols.
The purpose of SparkOS is to maintain state — protect data in decentralized networks — and verify evidence representing state transitions/transactions. Decentralized networks enable anyone to deploy or interact with applications or smart contracts deployed on SparkOS without a license.
The encryption core of the Aleo execution model is SparkVM. Unlike Ethereum virtual machines, SparkVM enables clients to run calculations offline and only publish proof of computation on the chain. This model can achieve higher scalability and unlimited application runtime.
To help developers write private applications, Aleo created a programming language called Leo. It looks and feels like a traditional programming language, with syntax abstracting low-level cryptography, making expressing logic in ZK simple and intuitive. The Leo compiler is the first officially validated ZK proof compiler. In addition, the Leo language is influenced by programming languages such as JavaScript, Scala, and Rust, emphasizing readability and ease of use.
To help developers write private applications, Aleo created a programming language called Leo. Its appearance and feel are like a traditional programming language, with its syntax abstracting low-level cryptography, making it easy and intuitive to express logic in ZK. The Leo compiler is the first officially validated ZK proof compiler. In addition, the Leo language is also influenced by programming languages such as JavaScript, Scala, and Rust, with a special emphasis on readability and ease of use.
Aleo’s CEO, CTO, and founder, Howard Wu, is a legendary figure in cryptography and co author of the groundbreaking paper “Zexe: Enabling Decentralized Private Computing”. He is also a co founder of Dekrypt Capital, an investment company focused on blockchain technology. Alex Pruden, the company’s Chief Operating Officer, was previously a partner of a16z and worked at Coinbase for a period of time. Prior to this, he was a member of the US Army Green Beret Special Forces and graduated from West Point.
Aleo’s decentralized open source network will provide strong support for building, deploying, and running private applications on the network. The company is betting that a stable token economy with predictable prices will provide a perfect foundation for next-generation computing based on zero knowledge cryptography.
We believe that Aleo is one of the few large-scale zero knowledge native blockchains. The company has the ability to attract developers and users to join its innovative new ecosystem. Aleo’s unlicensed open source network is expected to provide a secure foundation for the next generation of decentralized applications that are both private and scalable.
Joan Kim is an investor in Samsung Next. Samsung Next’s investment strategy is limited to its own perspective and does not reflect the vision or strategies of any other Samsung business units, including but not limited to Samsung Electronics
