Blockchain

Pi Squared Raises $12.5 Million in Seed Funding Led by Polychain Capital to Build a Universal ZK Circuit Powered by Proof of Proof

Champaign, Illinois, United States, July 2nd, 2024, Chainwire

 

Pi Squared, (Proof of Proof), announced the closure of their first capital raise. Led by Polychain Capital, the syndicate includes ABCDE, Bloccelerate, Generative Ventures, Robot Ventures, and Samsung Next. Angel investors include Shumo Chu, Harish Devarajan, Justin Drake, Sreeram Kanaan, Csongor Kiss, George Lambeth, Yilong Li, Calvin Liu, Lucian Mincu, Karthik Raju, and Common Prefix.

Using zero-knowledge (ZK) technology in a correct-by-construction and fundamentally unique way, Pi Squared will enable trustless remote computing, AI, and interoperable smart contracts for any blockchain or dApp. This will be made possible through the creation of a universal and disarmingly small ZK circuit that checks the integrity of mathematical proofs, which will provide verifiable-computing correctness guarantees to all languages and virtual machines (VMs) alike directly from their formal semantics, without any translation to a common language, VM, or instruction set architecture (ISA).

“Our mission is to revolutionize verifiable computing, making it universal for all languages and virtual machines, inherently correct-by-construction, and lightning-fast,” says Grigore Roșu, CEO of Pi Squared and CS Professor at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. “This will have many applications, including a universal settlement layer (USL) so all Blockchains, L1s and L2s, can be universal, correct, inter-operable and efficient. It does not end there, our long-term mission is to settle all science and knowledge on USL.”

“Pi Squared’s proof of proof technology will have a transformative impact across Web3 and beyond,” said Karthik Raju, GP at Polychain Capital. “Pi Squared’s universal ZK circuit will significantly increase the reach and applicability of Web3 for everyone, from builders to end users.”

Pi Squared will enable the next generation of verifiable computing that is universal and scalable with an optimally minimal trust base. The first product powered by Pi Squared is the Universal Settlement Layer (USL), an architecture for modular blockchains that enables the following characteristics:

Universality

Computations can be expressed in any high-level or virtual machine language, without the need for compilers or translators.

Provable correctness

Computations verified by the USL are mathematically proven to be correct, and any external entity can independently verify the correctness of the state of the USL.

Trust Base Minimality

USL exposes any trust assumptions in upper-layer computations for increased transparency, end-user awareness, and will minimize the trust base through correctness proofs.

App Interoperability

The USL will support interoperability between different application modules and networks (e.g. appchains).

Determinism and reproducibility

The validation is reproducible and independently verifiable by any external entity.

Pi Squared’s USL therefore provides end-to-end correctness guarantees for generic computations while minimizing the trust base underlying these computations. USL promotes verifiable computing as the standard distributed computing paradigm without requiring or promoting particular domain-specific languages (DSLs), VMs, or execution environments, all while being efficient and scalable.

Pi Squared will be presenting and exhibiting at events around EthCC in Brussels from July 8th to 11th. Attendees can listen to Pi Squared’s CEO, Grigore Roșu, speak at Restaking & Infra Day on July 8th and L2con on July 9th.

About Pi Squared

Pi Squared means ZK proofs of mathematical proofs. Pi Squared uses ZK technology in a correct-by-construction and fundamentally unique way. A universal and disarmingly small ZK circuit provides verifiable-computing correctness guarantees to all languages and VMs alike, without any translation to a common language, VM, or ISA. Pi Squared is led by UIUC professor Grigore Rosu, founder of the K framework and of Runtime Verification, and consists of researchers and founders of successful projects in formal methods, blockchain, and AI/ML.

To book a meeting with Pi Squared’s CEO and team, attendees can reach out to [email protected].

To learn more about Pi Squared’s vision and Proof of Proof, visit pi2.network and follow Pi Squared on social media.

 

Contact

Head of Marketing
Chris Hazelton
Pi Squared Inc
[email protected]

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Deepfake Fraud Doubles Down: 49% of Businesses Now Hit by Audio and Video Scams, Regula’s Survey Reveals

2024-09-30T11:00:00Z

RESTON, Va., Sept. 30, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In 2024, every second business globally reported incidents of deepfake fraud, revealing a growing trend in AI-related crimes over the past two years. Meanwhile, fraud involving fake or modified documents now outpaces AI-generated scams. These are the first findings from a new survey* “The Deepfake Trends 2024” commissioned by Regula, a global developer of forensic devices and identity verification solutions.

Regula’s survey data shows a significant rise in the prevalence of video deepfakes, with a 20% increase in companies reporting incidents compared to 2022**. While 29% of fraud decision-makers across Australia, France, Germany, Mexico, Turkey, UAE, UK, and the USA reported encountering video deepfake fraud in 2022, this year’s data — covering the USA, UAE, Mexico, Singapore, and Germany — shows this figure has surged to 49%. This sharp increase across the revised cohort underscores the growing challenge of video deepfakes and their continued threat to businesses.
Audio deepfakes are also on the rise, with a 12% increase compared to 2022 survey data.

Identity fraud tactics

Capture: The 12% rise in audio deepfake incidents and the 20% rise in video deepfake incidents from 2022 to 2024 highlight the need for enhanced detection and prevention measures.

The survey also reveals industrial and regional differences regarding companies’ experience with deepfake threats. For example, audio deepfakes prevail over video ones among the three of the surveyed sectors, including Financial Services (51%), Aviation (52%), and Crypto (55%). At the same time, Law Enforcement (56%), Technology (57%) and FinTech (57%) are reporting more face video scams.

The UAE and Singapore show higher susceptibility to deepfake fraud, with 56% of businesses in the UAE experiencing video deepfakes and 56% of businesses in Singapore encountering audio deepfakes. This is above the global average. In contrast, Mexico reported the lowest impact, with only 35% and 38% of businesses encountering video and audio deepfakes, respectively.

Old threats still persist

While video deepfakes are seeing the biggest jump over the two-year period (+20%), all other identity-related fraud has also grown, and some of its forms are more common than AI-generated scams.

As Regula’s survey shows, 58% of businesses globally have experienced identity fraud in the form of fake or modified documents. This happens to be the top identity fraud method for Mexico (70%), the UAE (66%), the US (59%), and Germany (59%). This implies that not only do businesses have to adapt their verification methods to deal with new threats, but they also are forced to combat old threats that continue to pose a significant challenge.

Interestingly, in a country more exposed to deepfakes, Singapore, this “traditional” threat is much lower than in the world at large: only 43% of businesses there reported having dealt with fake or tampered IDs.

“Our latest survey demonstrates that AI-generated identity fraud has become an everyday reality. The surge in deepfake incidents over the two-year period of our survey leaves businesses no choice but to adapt and rethink their current verification practices. Deepfakes are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and traditional methods are no longer enough. What we think may work well is the liveness-centric approach, a robust procedure that involves checking the physical characteristics of both individuals and their documents; in other words, verifying biometrics and ID hardcopies in real-time interactions. This is what we adhere to in our R&D and what we recommend that our customers do to protect themselves,” says Ihar Kliashchou, Chief Technology Officer at Regula.

Stay tuned for further insights as we continue to analyze and release more data on deepfake fraud. We’ll provide key updates to keep you informed and prepared for emerging threats.

Additional resources:

*The research was initiated by Regula and conducted by Sapio Research in August 2024 using an online survey of 575 business decision-makers across the Financial Services (including Traditional Banking and FinTech), Crypto, Technology, Telecommunications, Aviation, Healthcare, and Law Enforcement sectors. The respondent geography included Germany, Mexico, the UAE, the US, and Singapore.

**After aligning the 2024 survey data with the 2022 cohort for a direct comparison, it reveals that 49% of companies experienced both audio and video deepfakes, up from 37% and 29%, respectively, in 2022. However, the unadjusted 2024 survey — which includes a larger sample size and new regions such as Singapore, in place of countries like Australia and Turkey — indicates that 50% of companies were affected by both types of deepfakes.

About Regula

Regula is a global developer of forensic devices and identity verification solutions. With our 30+ years of experience in forensic research and the most comprehensive library of document templates in the world, we create breakthrough technologies for document and biometric verification. Our hardware and software solutions allow over 1,000 organizations and 80 border control authorities globally to provide top-notch client service without compromising safety, security, or speed. Regula has been repeatedly named a Representative Vendor in the Gartner® Market Guide for Identity Verification.

Learn more at www.regulaforensics.com.

Contact:
Kristina – [email protected]

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/59658107-89ca-4806-956c-853e8dfaad3e


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