TACEO Raises $5.5M Seed to Scale Encrypted Data Collaboration Platform

TACEO, a privacy-focused crypto startup based in Austria, has secured a $5.5 million seed funding round led by Archetype VC, with participation from a16z CSX, Cyber.Fund, A.Capital Ventures, and Polymorphic, among other angel investors [1]. This follows a previous seven-figure pre-seed round, though the company has not disclosed its current valuation [2]. The funding will be used to scale TACEO’s infrastructure, expand its team, and improve developer tools to enhance accessibility and real-world adoption of its privacy-first technology [2].

TACEO was founded in 2022 and emerged from a research initiative at Graz University of Technology and the Know-Centre. It leverages advanced cryptographic techniques such as Multiparty Computation (MPC) and coSNARKs to enable secure data collaboration without exposing sensitive information [2]. The startup’s flagship product, “Private Shared State,” allows multiple parties to compute, verify, and update encrypted datasets without the need for a trusted central authority [2]. This technology has already been deployed at scale, including in World ID’s biometric authentication system for over 14 million users [2].

The company is led by CEO Lukas Helminger, a former cryptography researcher, who emphasizes that TACEO is addressing a long-standing challenge: the tension between data privacy and the necessity for collaboration in data-sensitive environments [2]. The founding team includes Christian Rechberger, who developed the Poseidon hash function, now widely used in zero-knowledge cryptography [2]. TACEO aims to establish its Private Shared State as a foundational internet primitive, supporting programmable privacy and trust in decentralized systems [2].

The seed round highlights growing industry interest in privacy-preserving technologies, especially in light of rising data breaches and regulatory scrutiny. TACEO’s solution positions itself as a competitive player alongside companies like Zama, Duality Tech, Fhenix, Partisia, and Rosemanlabs, each of which offers unique approaches to encrypted computing [2]. What sets TACEO apart is its ability to enable dynamic, verifiable, and encrypted collaboration over time, supported by real-world deployments and academic expertise [2].

While the funding has not directly impacted major crypto assets like ETH or BTC, it signals a broader industry shift toward secure, decentralized infrastructure. As data privacy continues to be a global priority, TACEO’s focus on encrypted collaboration could play a key role in shaping the next generation of digital infrastructure across sectors such as AI, identity verification, and finance [2].

Source:

[1] TACEO raises $5.5M seed to scale encrypted data (https://tech.eu/2025/07/31/taceo-raises-55m-seed-to-scale-encrypted-data-collaboration-platform/)

[2] TACEO, backed by a16z CSX, scoops $5.5M to advance (https://techfundingnews.com/taceo-5-5m-seed-private-shared-state-secure-data-collaboration/)