INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
New Vector, a European startup founded in 2017 by the creators of an open, decentralized communications standard called Matrix to drive
adoption and grow an ecosystem around an alternative messaging protocol for instant messaging and VoIP apps, has raised an $8.5 million
offer an open, customizable and secure alternative
(Secure because unlike Slack Riot does offer end-to-end encryption
And the app includes a bridging feature to integrate with mainstream chat app rivals like Slack
shown just how important instant messaging is for workplace productivity but combining this convenience with total sovereignty and security
the last few years it feels like we have gone backwards with communication platforms like Slack and WhatsApp that are walled gardens where
strategic investment from an Ethereum-based secure chat and crypto wallet app called Status.Earlier dev work on the Matrix protocol was
funded with support from a large multinational telecoms infrastructure company for whom the founding team had previously built messaging
Such as the US government; the French government (which forked Riot to launch its own messaging app called Tchap earlier this year, and has
chosen Matrix to be its official comms platform); Wikimedia; KDE; and RedHat, to name a few
scale their hosting platform, burnish the product experience and beef up the protocol to be able to support more governments and enterprises
seeking digital sovereignty, messaging autonomy and strong encryption to keep their secrets in increasingly volatile geopolitical times.Just
last week officials from the US, UK and Australian governments leaned on Facebook publicly, calling on the company not to expand its use of
certain type of highly security conscious enterprise and public sector user, which is where Matrix is intended to plug in.If data is
centralized it risks becoming a sitting duck for powerful interests to try to get at, as well as generating a wealth of metadata that the
controlling commercial entity can absolutely data-mine
fit and deploy their own apps.(For the record, Matrix says its e2e encryption is based on the Double Ratchet Algorithm popularised by Signal
but which has been extended to support encryption to chat rooms containing thousands of devices
It also says it uses Olm and Megolm cryptographic ratchets, which are specified as an open standard with implementations released under the
Apache license, and which have been independently audited by NCC Group.)New Vector CEO and Matrix co-founder Matthew Hodgson tells us that
growth for Matrix is coming primary from the public sector and adjacent industries (which need to be able to communicate securely with
are wanting to be able to have full autonomy and control over your conversations with zero dependencies on a megacorp like Facebook, Google
alternative to WhatsApp and Slack for groups who need secure communication which is entirely within their control, rather than run by
This is a huge deal, especially given the increasingly obvious risks of centralised end-to-end encryption (a la WhatsApp and
As with any comms platform, there can be a dark side to the stuff people want to share
Throw in e2e encryption and decentralization and the question of how you moderate hateful communications could easily get overlooked
