- Polygon Labs has invested $5 million in Fabric to develop VPU chips for faster zero-knowledge proof generation.
- These VPU chips aim to reduce costs and accelerate the adoption of zero-knowledge cryptography in the blockchain industry, particularly for Polygon’s AggLayer project.
Polygon announced a $5 million investment in specialized hardware systems to enhance Zk-proof generation. This investment is part of a strategic partnership with Fabric, a hardware manufacturer focusing on advancing Polygon’s AggLayer project.
As we earlier reported, the AggLayer project, as discussed by Polygon’s CEO Marc Boiron, will be a cornerstone of the Polygon 2.0 upgrade. AggLayer aims to bridge the gap between Layer 1 and Layer 2 blockchains, enabling seamless interoperability between them. Revisiting previous steps, Polygon underwent a significant technical upgrade on September 4th, which transitioned its native token MATIC to POL. This migration was a stepping stone in the broader Polygon 2.0 vision.
Zero-knowledge cryptography, which allows the verification of transactions without revealing the underlying data, is taking center stage in the AggLayer project. Polygon Labs has partnered with Fabric, a company known for its custom zero-knowledge chips called verifiable processing units (VPUs) to make this process faster and more cost-effective.
These VPUs are being developed specifically for Polygon’s ZK prover libraries, Plonky2 and Plonky3. Having that Plonky 2 and Plonky 3 are the fastest proving systems for recursive proofs and zero-knowledge cryptography, a growing focus in the crypto industry requires real-time proving, and that’s where VPUs come in. Additionally, these VPUs are meant to aid in Polygon’s long-term use while drastically reducing the cost and time needed to generate ZK proofs, transforming the blockchain ecosystem.
Zero-knowledge proofs have been considered the future of blockchain technology, but the high cost and sophistication of generating these proofs have hindered widespread adoption. The introduction of VPU’s, Polygon’s $5 million investment is expected to not only pay off in terms of technological advancement but financial efficiency.
Having that the VPUs offer numerous benefits, “Fabric’s VPUs can accelerate the timeline for wider adoption of zero-knowledge technology from three to five years to six to 12 months,” Bjelic explained. This advancement not only makes the technology more accessible but also paves the way for real-time, affordable proofs, something previously considered out of reach for the near future.
These specialized VPUs precede just cost savings, the polygon-Fabric partnership means increased scalability and efficiency, faster and more affordable ZK proofs which will make transactions smoother across blockchain networks. The VPUs will be the ideal solution for projects like AggLayer.
Implementing this tech will massively accelerate the development of the AggLayer, bringing real-time, affordable proofs […] and much lower proving costs than previously thought possible in the medium-term, Bjelic said.
This $5 million investment follows a $33 million Series A funding, further showing Polygon’s commitment to enhancing blockchain innovation.
