Ultra-secure Matrix messenger Element raises $30 million

Ultra-secure collaboration and messaging app Element has raised $30 million in a new funding round. Element is trusted by the French, US, and UK governments, and is in talks with 10 others. Via BWI, Element provides the official communications system for the entire German armed forces (a county that takes its datenschutz pretty damn seriously). The new funding is expected to accelerate the development of the app.

Element is, however, just one piece of Matrix. And while I so wish I was talking about the 1999 blockbuster film, in this case, Matrix is the open-source protocol that provides a layer of interoperability for end-to-end encrypted communications. The parent company has seen interest explode over the past year, growing 190% and now counting 35 million addressable users and over 75,000 deployments.

Given the open-source nature of Matrix, there are now over 150 Matrix-based apps in the wild. Startups including Famedly and Beeper have Matrix baked in, and Thales, Ericsson, Dataport, and Sopra Steria all have Matrix-based solutions units.

The Series B round was funded by Protocol Labs and Skype founder Jaan Tallinn’s Metaplanet. Previous investors Automattic and Notion also increased their investment in the company.

“When communication is centralised it becomes a very appealing target for abuse; whether that’s through propaganda, surveillance, censorship or worse. Consumers need rescuing from surveillance capitalism, and organisations need a secure neutral way to communicate,” commented Tallinn. “Matrix is the most advanced platform to provide that missing communication layer.”