Space and Time, a Microsoft-backed decentralized data warehouse, has announced the launch of Blitzar in open source. Users, developers and the Web 3 community can now accelerate their ZK-proof computations using the GPU accelerator framework.
In a groundbreaking move that aims to reshape zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs in the world of Web 3, Space and Time, the AI-powered data warehouse, has unveiled Blitzar, its GPU accelerator framework in open-source. The move marks the first product from the company to be fully open-source. Blitzar is the GPU acceleration framework powering proof of SQL, a product on Space and Time capable of proving and verifying that the data returned in applicable queries is accurate and has not been tampered with.
The latest development marks a significant milestone in ZK proofs, as the open-source GPU accelerator framework aims to provide users with a faster and more robust framework for building GPU-accelerated zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs.
"ZK proofs are the future of Web3, and we believe that every protocol can benefit from rapid GPU acceleration,” said Jay White, Co-Founder and Head of Research at Space and Time. “Blitzar is already a very high-performance open-source GPU acceleration framework, and we're excited to collaborate with the broader Web3 community to continue to improve Blitzar’s performance and enable the next generation of ZK proofs."
The advent of Blitzar on Space and Time
As the world increasingly adopts ZK proofs as a way for verification, Space and Time pioneered the launch of proof of SQL. Launched in August 2023, this ZK-proof mechanism allows smart contracts to ask questions about data from their chain, other chains or off-chain sources in a verifiable way. Nonetheless, ZK proofs usually are computationally demanding and require additional hardware to enhance their utility, in this case, hardware acceleration frameworks.
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To optimize Proof of SQL and accelerate it, Space and Time, which is backed by Microsoft’s venture arm M12, partnered with global chipmaker NVIDIA, via the Nvidia Inception, in 2022. The Blitzar framework came alive later in the year, specifically designed for GPUs, which are well suited for the heavy workloads that ZK proofs generate and the efficient memory structure for handling large datasets.
However, while developing the proof of SQL protocol, Space and Time had to deal with the challenge of finding a GPU that would be able to handle the computational requirements of its ZK proof and also be open source. As it could not be solved, the company decided to build Blitzar from scratch, hence the latest release of the open-source platform.
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This open-source GPU acceleration framework is expected to enhance development on Space and Time, allowing ZK proofs to become faster, more robust, and more widely adopted across Web3. As such, this is expected to drive the development of a new generation of protocols, DApps, and businesses powered by ZK proofs.
More developments in Space and Time
This unveiling of open-source Blitzar aligns with Space and Time’s broader mission to push the boundaries of technology and empower the crypto community with cutting-edge tools. Earlier this year, the company unveiled Python Data for Jobs, a data solution that aims to optimize businesses with long-running Python jobs. The solution allows users to leverage Python to extract data from external sources and work on it seamlessly on the platform.
Additionally, the innovation connects to smart contracts, allowing developers to send huge volumes of data in a cryptographically secure way.
