Why we invested in Opacity
Opacity recently announced their seed funding round, led by Archetype and Breyer Capital, with additional backing from North Island Ventures, EV3, and others. We're thrilled to be part of this investment round. Coverage of the announcement can be found in The Block, and for a deeper dive into the company's mission, check out Founder Hersh Patel’s blog post or his detailed lecture from an Archetype workshop.
The concept behind Opacity resonated with me immediately due to my past experiences at Plaid and, prior to that, Quovo. The concept is simple: enabling an internet user to verify any unique information about them online to anyone else they choose. Opacity aims to be a more generalizable version of Plaid by allowing internet users to securely and privately verify any personal information online, much like how Plaid revolutionized financial data access. In an era where our digital footprints are scattered across proprietary silos, Opacity helps restore user control over their online data, which we believe will enable a new wave of innovation on the internet similar to what Plaid achieved for fintech.
What is Opacity?
Opacity simplifies secure online data sharing through multi-party computation (MPC) and Transport Layer Security (TLS) verification. While TLS works well for two-party interactions, it’s less effective when third parties are involved. Opacity addresses this, allowing individuals to securely share their information with third parties while maintaining privacy.
Why Invest in Opacity?
Foundational Innovation to the Internet: Opacity's technology could redefine the internet by enabling secure data sharing across all digital platforms, not limited to blockchain.
Strong Technical Expertise: The team at Opacity boasts profound knowledge in cryptography, MPC, and blockchain, solving complex problems with practical engineering solutions.
A Unique Creative Vision: Opacity not only develops cutting-edge tech but also actively supports developers in exploring myriad applications, from food delivery to the social media influencer economy.
What makes Opacity so exciting is not only the greater control it can afford internet users over their data, but the possibility of rearchitecting a new type of internet. We are excited to support the Opacity team on this worthwhile mission.