Optalysys partners with Zama to develop Fully Homomorphic Encryption for privacy

Optalysys, a secure computing startup, has partnered with open source crypto company Zama.The purpose of this development is to advance the development of Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE). 

FHE is an advanced, quantum-resilient cryptography method that allows encrypted data to be processed without ever needing to be decrypted. It allows organisations to process data whilst maintaining privacy, opening up opportunities for safe collaboration across industries, even in untrusted environments. The partnership will see the integration of Zama’s FHE solution with Optalysys’ hardware acceleration product range, Enable, to expedite FHE adoption for its customers. 

The partnership aims to bridge the gap in FHE adoption by addressing its historically high computational demands.

Zama’s software solutions include encrypted machine learning and advanced confidentiality in blockchain smart contracts. Current cybersecurity solutions have significant limitations in protecting data in use, which is why the adoption of privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs) such as FHE, are fundamental for companies in protecting sensitive data.

CEO Dr Nick New said: “Our partnership with Zama is a significant step for us as we continue to accelerate the development of FHE. Historically, scaling FHE applications has been a challenge due to its demand for specialist infrastructure and computing power. Our work with Zama aims to overcome this barrier and enable us to develop this revolutionary technology at a rapid pace.”

Rand Hindi, CEO at Zama, commented: “At Zama, our mission is to equip developers with the best FHE tools — tools that are easy to use, practical, and fast. Our collaboration with Optalysys is an exciting step toward making FHE faster, a crucial milestone in our journey to make this technology ubiquitous. “We believe that this acceleration benefits machine learning applications and is equally transformative in the blockchain space, a key focus for us, where FHE has the unique ability to resolve the long-standing tension between transparency and confidentiality, unlocking new possibilities for privacy-preserving innovation onchain."