Inco develops a confidentiality layer and confidential compute protocol for existing blockchains. Its first product, Inco Lightning, is designed to provide confidentiality to any on‑chain application while preserving performance for real‑time gaming, high‑frequency DeFi and private transactions. The protocol leverages verifiable compute within a trusted execution environment (TEE) to deliver confidentiality without sacrificing speed. Inco aims to support multiple L1 and L2 blockchains, starting with Ethereum and Base, before expanding to other ecosystems. The company is led by its CEO and intends to use newly raised funds to expand operations and development efforts. The article does not report operating metrics or prior financings. Inco builds a universal confidentiality layer that combines the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) with Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) to allow programs to compute on encrypted data without decryption. The team launched the Gentry testnet to address Web3 confidentiality challenges and to provide native on-chain confidentiality and randomness. Their approach is secured by Ethereum via EigenLayer and avoids TEEs, circuits, or central off-chain coordination. Inco is modular and interoperable with other blockchains using externally validated bridges such as Hyperlane and natively verified IBC. The protocol enables familiar EVM operations (addition, division, comparisons) on encrypted data, unlocking use cases across gaming, DeFi (dark pools, private lending, blind auctions), and enterprise solutions like confidential stablecoins, private RWAs, and private voting. Inco has a strategic partnership with FHE research company Zama and advisors that include Sandeep Nailwal and Anand Iyer. The company recently completed a $4.5 million Seed round led by 1kx.

Total raised

$10M

Funding rounds

2

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

Apr 2025