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Vac projects
There are several projects under Vac. These are largely independent and can be seen as specific bets.
Waku Research
Basically what Vac is primarily focused on today. Serves Waku Product, and aims to making Waku a self-sustained robust network with strong and modular privacy guarantees. This also includes secure messaging research and things like p2p/networking.
The most immediate pressing hire here is the cryptoeconomic/hybrid smart contract role.
- Head count now: ~2 (3 people, but also doing support and production)
- Head count in 6m: 3-4 (one more hire plus less production work)
- Head count in 2y: 5
ZK-WASM
ZK-WASM is a future requirement for Logos effort in terms of creating a private execution environment. This involves a lot of Rust/ZK/VM expertise and will take a while to develop. It is one of several interesting applications to ZK, but since it is a very specific goal it is its own project. Expected to shadow Zk-EVM work initially and working closely with the Logos team.
- Head count now: 0
- Head count in 6m: 1-2
- Head count in 2y: 5
Support
This is a supporting function and doing research and related activities to make other projects successful. This includes things such as:
- Protocol specification process
- Security guarantees
- Academic collaboration
- Deep dives into specific problems
- Taking engineering problems and attacking them in a first principles fashion
This looks different for different projects. For Waku research, that project is already its own standalone one. For Logos Blockchain, it might be more about helping out turning existing write-ups into Vac RFCs. For Codex and Nimbus, it might be doing more research on/formalization of specific problems such as erasure coding or secret sharing validators. For Status, it might mean embedding someone in team to write better Status specs. Other general research outreach functions are expected to live here too, including "softer" roles.
Currently, this is mostly ad hoc spot efforts. For example: initial Status specs, breaking down Community Archive History problem from a protocol POV, write-up of Keycard possible vulnerability, back and forth for Codex erasure coding ideas.
Could use a better name while still capturing essence.
- Head count now: ~1 (split across ~3 people)
- Head count in 6m: 2-3
- Head count in 2y: 5
Applied ZK
This is a bet on applied ZK playing a big role in the Web3/Crypto/Privacy sphere over the next decade. This includes collaborating with groups like PSE and 0xPARC and being a live player with active contributions to fundamental tools, circuits and constructs. Especially centered around things like identity and reputation and novel applied mechanisms that are only being unlocked now, similar to what smart contracts enabled with Ethereum.
As specific efforts gets solidified here, that might turn into a specific product bet, similar to how Waku was incubated in Vac initially.
- Head count now: ~0.5
- Head count in 6m: 2
- Head count in 2y: 5
Explorations
With most of the research effort serving specific product bets, this is purposefully open ended on the explore-exploit continuum. The goal is to explore specific hunches that then might lead into useful research or applications. This also includes rapid prototyping of research in more extreme directions.
This has some overlap with applied ZK project, but can be seen as being slightly broader. Similarly, it is expected that fruitful research here can turn into specific projects.
Examples:
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Skunkworks project to explore alternative Status clients by going all in on ZK tech
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Formal methods for analyzing protocol security guarantees
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Novel p2p and cryptography
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Completely standalone efforts of approaching privacy (e.g. optimizing user journey of bootstrapping an identity from scratch with Tails etc)
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Head count now: 0
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Head count in 6m: 1
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Head count in 2y: 5