Niobium, a custom silicon provider specialising in fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) platforms, has secured more than $23m in new funding following what the firm described as an oversubscribed follow-on round.
The raise attracted returning backers Fusion Fund, Morgan Creek Capital, Rev1 Ventures and Ohio Innovation Fund, alongside fresh capital from strategic investor Blockchange Ventures. New supporters also include ADVentures, the corporate venture arm of Analog Devices Inc, Korea Development Bank, JobsOhio Ventures, Rev1 Angels and Silicon Catalyst Ventures.
The company develops hardware designed to enable computing directly on encrypted data, removing the need for decryption and providing mathematically guaranteed privacy. Market momentum behind Niobium’s proposition reflects confidence in FHE as a core building block for securing information in a future where AI, blockchain systems and quantum computing fundamentally alter trust and confidentiality.
Niobium said the financing will speed development of its second-generation FHE platforms, helping it transition from experimental designs to production-ready silicon suited for customer pilots and early deployment. The funding will also support the build-out of its infrastructure for pilots, wider integration and ecosystem enablement.
The company added that demand for encrypted computation is rising rapidly as organisations contend with growing processing volumes and evolving cyber risks. With quantum computing threatening traditional encryption, Niobium aims to become a foundational player in privacy-preserving, quantum-resilient compute architectures. Its Early Access Programme has seen interest from hyperscale technology firms and emerging sectors such as blockchain and federated learning.
Niobium CEO Kevin Yoder said, “This financing is a vote of confidence not only in our progress, but in the market readiness for a new compute paradigm. The rise of AI, quantum computing, and distributed computing has expanded possibilities and risks in the data economy. Niobium is building the hardware foundation for the encrypted future, where privacy is mathematically guaranteed.”
Matt Immerso, general partner at Blockchange, added, “There is no encryption standard more secure than fully homomorphic encryption (FHE). Niobium’s team is building a foundational chip for the future of cryptographic infrastructure. It could make FHE truly performant, secure, and scalable. Their rare combination of deep cryptography expertise and high-volume semiconductor manufacturing experience puts them closer to commercializing this technology than anyone has ever been.”
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