Sesame Summit 2026 – application open

Zama: Revolutionizing Data Privacy with Homomorphic Encryption

Data privacy has become a critical issue in the digital age, and Zama is at the forefront with its innovative homomorphic encryption solutions.

Co-founded by Pascal Paillier and Rand Hindi in 2020, the company aims to protect sensitive data through Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE), a groundbreaking technology that allows computations on encrypted data without exposure.

As businesses and industries navigate increasing privacy concerns, Zama’s encryption solutions transform data usage in sectors like artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, healthcare, and finance.

blank
📸: Zama

A Visionary Start in Data Privacy

The inspiration behind Zama arose from the urgent need to balance data privacy with functionality in an increasingly data-driven world.

“Zama was born out of a desire to solve the paradox of enabling secure data usage without compromising privacy,” shares Jeremy Bradley, Zama’s COO.

This vision has evolved from a research-focused concept to a fully accessible and user-friendly encryption platform, making significant strides in deploying advanced cryptographic solutions that promise to revolutionize industries reliant on big data.

The Core Technology: Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE)

At the heart of Zama’s innovation lies homomorphic encryption, a transformative advancement in the encryption landscape. Traditional encryption methods require data to be decrypted for processing, which exposes it to security risks. “FHE allows data to remain encrypted during computations,” explains Bradley. This capability is vital for sectors such as healthcare and finance, where secure data processing is paramount. Their technology ensures privacy while maintaining high performance, providing practical solutions to real-world challenges. “We’ve optimized our cryptographic algorithms to ensure our solutions are both secure and efficient,” Bradley notes.

blank
📸: Zama

Zama’s Competitive Edge in Encryption

What sets Zama apart from other encryption providers is its commitment to usability and performance. While many competitors focus on theoretical advancements, Zama is dedicated to making homomorphic encryption accessible to developers without requiring extensive cryptographic knowledge. “We emphasize open-source tools, making our technology widely available for innovation and collaboration,” Bradley states. This approach cultivates a community-driven ecosystem where privacy-preserving applications can flourish.

Overcoming Challenges in Cryptographic Solutions

Developing cryptographic solutions presents numerous challenges, and Zama has faced its share. “Balancing security with performance has been one of our biggest challenges,” admits Bradley. FHE is inherently computationally intensive, but the company has made significant strides in refining the technology to ensure it’s practical for everyday use. Collaborations with the cryptographic research community have been essential in overcoming these challenges and pushing the possible boundaries.

blank
📸: Zama

Expanding Impact Across Industries and Use Cases

Zama envisions a future where FHE is a foundational technology across various sectors. In finance, FHE enables secure data analysis without exposing sensitive information. In healthcare, it allows patient data to be processed securely while adhering to privacy regulations. Governments can also benefit from FHE, ensuring secure data sharing across departments. “We see homomorphic encryption as the bedrock of privacy-preserving innovation,” Bradley emphasizes, highlighting their long-term vision.

Zama’s Flagship Product: Concrete

In its mission to democratize homomorphic encryption, Zama recently launched Concrete. This is an open-source encryption library designed for efficiency and ease of use. “Concrete allows developers to integrate FHE into their applications without needing to be cryptography experts,” says Bradley. The product will significantly impact the industry by enabling more developers to create secure, privacy-preserving applications.

Looking Ahead: Zama’s Strategic Goals

Looking to the future, Zama’s strategic goals are clear: to expand the adoption of homomorphic encryption across industries and continue optimizing its solutions. “We’re focused on building a robust ecosystem of developers and partners around our open-source tools,” Bradley shares. By fostering innovation and staying at the forefront of encryption research, Zama is positioned to shape the future of data privacy.

blank
📸: Zama

Zama’s journey exemplifies the power of visionary leadership and groundbreaking technology. With a focus on practicality, performance, and privacy, Zama is setting new standards for encryption in the digital age. “We’re committed to protecting privacy without compromising functionality,” Bradley emphasizes — a promise that solidifies Zama’s status as a leader in secure data processing.

you might also like

blank
Events 2 days ago

Last week, I spent three days at Bits and Pretzels in Munich — a startup-focused event with a distinctly Bavarian flavor. Think Oktoberfest meets startup conference, complete with dirndls, lederhosen, and more beer than you might expect. As someone building an AI-powered event platform, I went in with a specific mission: Observe how startups actually market themselves at events. Here’s what I discovered: GoodBytz: The power of good demos What they did: Robotics startup GoodBytz set up a booth where its robots prepared kaiserschmarrn (a traditional German dessert) all day long. Why it worked: Nothing beats seeing a product in action. While other booths had brochures and demos, GoodBytz’s robots were actually cooking. The smell, the movement and the end result stirred together an experience that people will remember and talk about. The lesson: If you have a physical product, show it in action. The old writing adage generalizes well: Show, don’t tell.  Let people see, hear and touch the product. WeRoad: The bathroom hack What they did: Posted “Missing Investor” flyers in bathroom stalls with QR codes pointing to their website. Why it worked: Pure genius. Every startup at the event was looking for investors, but the “Missing Investor” headline, while a bit on the nose, proved irresistible. Plus, bathroom stalls are one of the few places where people have 30 seconds to actually read something. The lesson: Think about where your target audience’s attention will remain undivided. Sometimes, the most effective marketing leverages the most unexpected places. Emqopter: Visual impact matters What they did: Designed a bright orange booth that displayed their drone prominently. Why it worked: In a sea of grey, white, beige and brown, Emqopter’s bright orange booth was impossible to overlook. The drone was real, too, and proved a real conversation starter. The lesson: Your booth is competing with hundreds of others. Make it visually distinctive and ensure your product is the hero. Quests: Community building using the product What they did: Created a busy, branded booth with accessories (toy car, traffic cones, a bulletin board) and used their anti-loneliness app to build communities among founders at the event. Why it worked: Quests used their product to solve a real problem right at the event, and the busy booth design generated energy and curiosity. The lesson: Use your product to solve a problem at the event — if it’s possible, of course. Demonstrate your value in real time. Dyno: Event-themed marketing What they did: Distributed branded electrolyte packs with the tagline “Your hangover ends. Your pension lasts – with Dyno.” Why it worked: Dyno aligned its messaging perfectly with the Oktoberfest theme. Every attendee was thinking about beer and hangovers, so Dyno’s goodies were quite relevant. The tagline was clever, memorable, and directly addressed a pain point most people at the event might have to deal with later. The lesson: Tailor your marketing to the event’s theme and culture. The more you tie your messaging and product to the context, the more memorable you become. So, what did I learn? Event marketing is about more than just showing up and setting up a booth; you have to understand your audience and create experiences that people will remember. Here’s what really struck me: most startups and even big companies don’t know how to leverage events properly. They book the booth, show up and hope for the best; maybe they bring some branded pens and a pop-up banner. Then they’ll go back home and wonder why they spent €5,000 in exchange for 50 business cards that never convert. The startups that stood out at Bits and Pretzels understand something fundamental: event ROI isn’t about booth size or location; it’s about strategy, creativity and planning. None of the startups above improvised on-site, or planned something the night before the event in their hotel rooms. They laid everything out 4-6 weeks before the event. A solid pre-event strategy is what separates successful event marketing from expensive booth rental.  But what matters most for early-stage startups is that you don’t need a massive budget to stand out. WeRoad’s bathroom stall hack probably cost €50 to print the flyers. A standard booth package at Bits and Pretzels would go for €3,000 to €5,500. The ROI difference is staggering when you compare the cost per meaningful conversation. That’s the difference between simply spending money and investing smartly. Building Sesamers has taught me that helping startups find the right events is only half the equation. The other half is helping them understand how to maximize ROI once they’re there. Good props aren’t a marketing expense; they’re opportunities to meet customers, investors and partners, and strike up engaging conversations.

blank
New Materials 3 days ago

Lios Group, the Irish startup behind SoundBounce, was a winner of JEC Composites Startup Booster 2018, and has been making significant strides since taking home the award.

blank
New Materials 1 week ago

Tree Composites aims to accelerate the energy transition with innovative composite joints.

Subscribe to
our Newsletter!

Stay at the forefront with our curated guide to the best upcoming Tech events.