Contrary Research Rundown #97
The magic math of encryption, plus new memos on SpaceX, Ethos, and more
Research Rundown
In the latest essay from Foundations & Frontiers, we dive into the history and underpinning principles of encryption.
For centuries, encryption has been a vital tool for protecting sensitive information, from Julius Caesar's simple cipher to the complex Enigma machine used in World War II. Today, encryption is an invisible but essential part of our digital lives, safeguarding everything from our online transactions to our personal communications.
The field of cryptography is now experiencing a renaissance, with new approaches like zero-knowledge proofs and homomorphic encryption pushing the boundaries of what's possible. These advanced techniques allow us to verify or compute with encrypted data without ever revealing the underlying information, opening up new possibilities for privacy and security in the digital age.
"Imagine if there was an algorithm that could convince the bank that your income fell within a particular range without you ever revealing any sensitive documents. This seems like it should be impossible, but remarkably, such an algorithm has already been around for nearly forty years. It's called a zero-knowledge proof."
These innovations couldn't come at a more crucial time. With the looming threat of quantum computers potentially breaking current encryption methods, cryptographers are racing to develop "post-quantum" encryption algorithms that can withstand attacks from even the most powerful future computers.
The ongoing evolution of encryption technology reflects a broader struggle to maintain privacy and security in an increasingly digital world. As our lives become more interconnected, the work of cryptographers becomes ever more vital in ensuring that we can enjoy the benefits of the digital age without sacrificing our right to privacy.
You can read the full essay here.
Ethos is a life insurance company that offers an online application process that prioritizes speed and ease of application. To learn more, read our full memo here and check out some open roles below:
Senior Full Stack Engineer - Bangalore, India
Senior Product Designer, Consumer - Remote (US)
SpaceX's ambitious long-term vision is establishing a permanent settlement on Mars to transform humanity into a multi-planetary species. To learn more, read our full memo here and check out some open roles below:
Application Software Engineer, Data - Hawthorne, CA
GNC DevOps Engineer (Falcon) - Hawthorne, CA
Check out some standout roles from this week.
Hex | San sFrancisco, CA or New York, NY or Remote (US) - Fullstack Engineer, Backend Engineer - Supernova, Product Security Engineer
Base Power | Austin, TX - Hardware & Software Engineering roles, Growth & Operations roles, Other roles
Traba | New York, NY - Senior Software Engineer (Backend), Senior Software Engineer (Frontend), Software Engineer (React Native)
Elon Musk has revived a six-year-old feud with OpenAI and its founders, accusing them of prioritizing commercial interests over the public good.
Nvidia employees were asked to scrape videos from Netflix, YouTube, and other sources to train an AI model for Nvidia's Omniverse 3D world generator, self-driving car systems, and digital human products.
A judge ruled that Google has an illegal monopoly on search, which could significantly impact how Google makes its search engine available to users and disrupt its dominance in the search market.
Ramp is increasingly leveraging AI and is now processing $35 billion a year in “total purchase volume,” the combined dollar amount of transactions on the platform, up from $10 billion in May 2023.
Bessemer Venture Partners, Forbes, and Salesforce Ventures released their 2024 Cloud 100 List, highlighting the world’s top 100 private cloud companies. 97% of listed companies are projected to reach $100M ARR by year-end. The list includes companies like Databricks, Stripe, Canva, Deel, Wiz, and more.
Klarna is considering a secondary share sale ahead of its planned IPO, which could value the company at over $10 billion — higher than its last fundraising round valuation of around $7 billion.
Last week, a YouTuber filed a class action lawsuit against OpenAI, indicating the growing battles over digital IP from content creators.
The SEC charged Nader Al-Naji with a multi-million-dollar fraudulent crypto asset scheme involving the social media platform BitClout and its native token. Al-Naji was included in Forbes 30 under 30 list for Finance in 2019 — adding him to a growing list of 30 under 30 founders who have been sentenced to jail.
OpenAI is investing $60 million in a hardware startup called Opal that makes professional-grade webcams — an unexpected move for a large language model developer.
Google, OpenAI and Sequoia are pushing to tighten security practices following high-profile espionage incidents.
Anduril's "Arsenal" platform aims to revolutionize military manufacturing by using software processes to enable hyperscale production of advanced autonomous systems, potentially addressing the critical shortage in the U.S. defense industrial base and dramatically accelerating the production of modern military capabilities.
Speaking of Anduril, the the defense tech company announced it has raised $1.5 billion at a $14 billion valuation and plans to build massive autonomous weapons factories to meet growing demand. Sands Capital and Founders Fund co-led the Series F round, which is at a 65% post-money premium to where Anduril last raised money in late 2022.
Harvey, a legal AI startup, reached a $1.5 billion valuation after securing a $100 million Series C round, making it the highest valued startup in OpenAI's portfolio.
At Contrary Research, our vision is to become the best starting place to understand private tech companies. We can't do it alone, nor would we want to. We focus on bringing together a variety of different perspectives.
That's why we're opening applications for our Research Fellowship. In the past, we've worked with software engineers, product managers, investors, and more. If you're interested in researching and writing about tech companies, apply here!