The DFINITY Foundation, headquartered in Zurich, focuses on developing the Internet Computer, a third-generation blockchain that hosts secure and resilient services. Leveraging Greater Zurich's innovative environment and rich talent pool, DFINITY aims to advance decentralized blockchain technology for widespread adoption.
About DFINITY
The DFINITY Foundation was established in 2016 in Zürich, Switzerland, by its Founder & Chief Scientist Dominic Williams. Since then, it has become the largest blockchain tech employer in Switzerland and the DACH Region.
The DFINITY Foundation is the creator and major contributor to the Internet Computer, the first and only third-generation blockchain that extends the functionality of the Internet from a network that connects devices globally to a computing platform that hosts systems and services directly on the blockchain.
The Internet Computer Protocol (ICP)
The Internet Computer is currently used by millions of users and runs thousands of applications. The applications on the Internet Computer are built from smart contracts making them tamperproof and unstoppable. Since its launch in May 2021, the Internet Computer has experienced zero downtime, and processed over three billion blocks.
Unlike other blockchain platforms, smart contracts on the Internet Computer are very powerful on par with traditional software: they can serve web content, interact with any other Internet service, and process large amounts of data. Another difference is that due to the unique architecture and novel cryptography, the Internet Computer is energy efficient, comparable with traditional software that runs on Big Tech's cloud services, and orders of magnitude lower than competing blockchains. Users can directly interact with smart contracts through their browsers just like a regular website - they do not need anything else (such as a wallet or holding any crypto tokens), making it ready for mass adoption.
DFINITY’s mission is to drive 'blockchain singularity' in which fully decentralized blockchains become the world's prevailing tech stack, running secure, tamperproof, and unstoppable AI.
Superstar team
The DFINITY Foundation was founded with a handful of employees, since then the foundation has grown and evolved; it now boasts 250 employees. The DFINITY R&D operation is the largest and most distinguished in the blockchain industry, counting 1600+ publications, 100,000+ citations, and 250+ patents. Some of the best and most well-known cryptographers, researchers, and engineers are working on the Internet Computer. The talent pool in the Greater Zurich Area is one of the best and deepest in the world. Many DFINITY employees are ex-IBM, ex-Google, have studied or lectured at ETH Zürich, or come from Zürich's world-famous financial services industry. The result of uniting so much talent under one mission is one of the world's most advanced and ambitious projects.
Blockchain Ecosystem
Switzerland has been the home of blockchain for over a decade. The mix of groundbreaking startups, forward-thinking politicians and regulators, and a tech-savvy population has created an environment many have tried to emulate. The DFINITY Headquarters, a state-of-the-art building located in the city center of Zürich, is also a regular venue for workshops, project launches, and networking events, bringing partners from all over the world together to collaborate, incubate, accelerate, and develop unique blockchain applications.
Blockchain in the Greater Zurich Area
Blockchain in the Greater Zurich Area
The Greater Zurich Area, specifically its world-famous Crypto Valley, has developed into a world center for the blockchain industry. Greater Zurich provides a business-friendly, pragmatic regulatory environment and a deep-rooted sense of privacy protection, along with a high concentration of peer companies, service providers and world-renowned research institutions, all working together in order to push the boundaries of the blockchain application scope.
