Metaplanet invested in Israeli blockchain startup Fhenix

Jaan Tallinn’s fund Metaplanet invested in Israel-based blockchain startup Fhenix. The $7M seed round was led by US investment firm Multicoin Capital and Israeli VC Collider Ventures. Tel-Aviv crypto VC firm Node Capital, crypto VC Bankless, HackVC, crypto builders incubator TaneLabs, and New York-based VC Robot Ventures also participated in the deal.

Founded in Tel Aviv in 2023 by Guy Itzhaki and Guy Zyskind, Fhenix provides a blockchain empowered by homomorphic encryption (FHE), which facilitates computations on encrypted data without the need for its decryption. As a result, it guarantees that transaction inputs and states are encrypted and secured during the computation process in smart contracts. In other words, Fhenix technology ensures end-to-end encryption for Web3-based applications.

The startup will use the investment to bring its network into public Testnet (a beta version of the blockchain network project designed to test it without the need to spend real cryptocurrency) early next year and to support ecosystem application development.

Metaplanet Holdings is an early-stage investment firm of Skype’s founder Jaan Tallinn. It has 163 companies in its venture investment portfolio. This year, the firm invested in Estonian business software for freelancers and individual entrepreneurs Xolo, Latvian technology company Aerones, Tallinn-based startup Vok Bikes, Lithuanian biotechnology startup Atrandi Biosciences, US home kits for blood testing SiPhox Health, US cleantech Modern Electron, New York-based document automation solution Cognaize, Iceland-based solution for the metals industry DTE.