Venture Firm a16z Dives into ZK Technology Research with ‘Jolt’ and ‘Lasso’ Projects

Prominent VC firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) has unveiled two open-source software projects focused on zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs.

These projects aim to accelerate the core technology behind ZK proofs, a promising type of cryptography that can help scale blockchains by increasing transaction throughput, reducing costs, and enhancing privacy, the firm said in a recent announcement. 

The first project is Lasso, which introduces an innovative technique to expedite ZK systems. 

The whitepaper for Lasso was co-authored by Justin Thaler, an a16z member, along with Srinath Setty—a Microsoft researcher—and Riad Wahby, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University. 

a16z has already released the code for Lasso under an open-source license, enabling external developers to utilize it in their own projects. 

The other project is Jolt, which proposes a particular type of zero-knowledge virtual machine (zkVM) that incorporates Lasso’s innovations.

Currently, Jolt exists as a research paper, but a16z plans to release a coded version in due time, also under an open-source license. 

Given that many of a16z’s portfolio companies rely on ZK technology, the firm hopes its contributions will enhance these companies’ chances of success and subsequently improve its own financial position. 

Moreover, open-source contributions can bolster a16z’s standing within the developer community, differentiating the firm when competing for lucrative deals.

While ZK proofs possess applications beyond blockchain, they have garnered considerable attention due to their efficacy in blockchain scaling. 

Thaler explained that ZK proofs “scale blockchains by kind of doing the hard work off-chain, and only having the blockchain verify the proofs.” 

This approach ensures that the work was completed correctly without overwhelming all the nodes in the blockchain network.

Lasso and Jolt to Speed Up Scaling in Web3

Presented as an enhancement to the fundamental components of ZK-SNARKs, Lasso is classified as a ZK “lookup argument” by a16z. 

ZK-SNARKs are a crucial building block underlying numerous ZK-based crypto projects. 

a16z claimed that Lasso “provides roughly a 10x speedup over the lookup argument in the popular, well-engineered halo2 toolchain; we expect improvements of around 40x when optimizations are complete.”

In addition to Lasso, a16z is releasing the open-source code for Jolt, its new approach to building zero-knowledge virtual machines (zkVMs). 

zkEVM is a relatively new type of zk-Rollup that is EVM-compatible. 

One type of zkVM, known as zkEVMs, has emerged as the driving force behind the latest class of Ethereum “layer 2” scaling chains. 

zkEVMs allow for enhanced Ethereum process functionality (smart contracts and dApps) while also lowering gas costs and increasing Ethereum network throughput.

“Relative to existing SNARK VMs, we expect Jolt to achieve similar or better performance – and importantly, a more streamlined and accessible developer experience,” the firm said.