About Us
Horizen Labs is a deep-tech leader in advanced cryptography, providing the secure infrastructure for a post-quantum, agentic world where autonomous systems must be both private and universally verifiable.
US veteran founded
US-based with a global footprint
New York, Milan, San Juan
Backed by top VCs
8Years Operating
20+Cryptographic, AI, Quantum Security Experts
50+Protocols Assessed
90%Cost Savings
$10B+TVL Protected
100M+Proofs Verified
Backed By
Timeline
Horizen Labs Over the Years
APR 2019
Horizen Labs Founded
AUG 2021
$7M Seed Round
DEC 2021
ZK-powered Cross-chain Protocol Mainnet Launch
MAR 2022
Apecoin Launch
JUN 2022
New York Office Opened
SEP 2022
ZenCon0 — Ecosystem Summit
OCT 2023
Horizen EVM Chain Mainnet Launch
OCT 2024
Apechain Mainnet Launch
JUL 2025
Horizen Migration
SEP 2025
zkVerify Mainnet Launch
NOV 2025
San Juan Office Opened
DEC 2025
Horizen L3 Mainnet Launch
Verify the World's Truth
Our Story
01
Where we started
Horizen Labs grew up building and operating real cryptographic systems. That meant learning the hard lessons: reliability matters more than novelty, upgrades are where systems break, and trust is earned in production.
02
Where the demand shifted
Over time, we realized something: the organizations with the biggest need for privacy aren't always crypto-native. Governments, NGOs, and enterprises increasingly operate on digital and on-chain rails, and they face a unique problem: public traceability colliding with real-world risk.
03
Where we are today
Over time, we realized something: the organizations with the biggest need for privacy aren't always crypto-native. Governments, NGOs, and enterprises increasingly operate on digital and on-chain rails, and they face a unique problem: public traceability colliding with real-world risk.
Rob Viglione
Founder and CEO of Horizen Labs | US Air Force Veteran | USC - PhD. Finance
Our Beliefs
People deserve privacy that works
Privacy shouldn't be a luxury, a loophole, or a dream. It should be practical. It protects what's confidential while still enabling accountability, so institutions can operate responsibly without exposing people to harm.
Truth should be provable
In a noisy world, trust can't depend on charisma or authority. We believe the future belongs to systems where what's true can be verified by design.
Make the hard things usable
Powerful technology only matters if teams can actually run it. We turn complexity into tools and workflows that businesses and organizations can depend on.
The future should be more trustworthy
Technology should reduce risk, not multiply it. We believe the next era of digital infrastructure will be built on privacy, verification, and control that people can actually depend on.
Who We Are
We're a team with a rare combination of deep military, government, and financial systems expertise with production-grade cryptographic engineering. Your end-to-end technology partner.
Full-stack cryptographic delivery
From architecture to production
Institution-grade posture
Built for regulated environments
Long-term partner
Fast to validate. Safe to scale.
We build what teams can operate, and what institutions can trust.
Our Leadership Team
Rob Viglione
CO-FOUNDER & CEO
USC - PhD. Finance Loyola Marymount - MBA Columbia University, AMP 150USC US Air Force, Space & Missile Systems Center, JIEDDO, USMC, Army, CJSOTF-A
“
The hardest part isn't inventing the cryptography. It's making it usable—so teams can operate it, institutions can trust it, and missions can depend on it.
Rosario Pabst
CO-FOUNDER & COO
Loyola Marymount - M.Eng Systems Engineering US Air Force, Space & Missile Systems Center
“
We aren't just building blockchain products; we're pushing the boundaries of what's possible in Web3 by staying curious, staying uncomfortable, and staying committed to the ecosystem
Zain Cheng
CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER (CTO)
Cornell University - M.Eng Computer Science Federal Reserve BNY, Barclays, Siemens
“
I'm driven to turn bold ideas into practical technology that expands access, trust, and opportunity.
Andy Bryant
CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER (CSO)
University of Bath - M.Eng (1st) Mechanical Engineering Tokyo Institute of Technology - Advanced Robotics bitFlyer, Luxembourg Government, BDA Partners, OC Robotics, IBM
James Shuman
HEAD OF SECURITY
Georgia Institute of Technology - Cybersecurity US Army, Rockwell Collins, Additional Defense Contractors
“
At Horizen Labs, security is a partner, not a gatekeeper. Having a seat at the table from day one makes all the difference in what we can accomplish.
Tommaso Gagliardoni
SENIOR CRYPTOGRAPHY RESEARCHER
Technical University Darmstadt - PhD in Cryptography and Quantum Security University of Perugia - MSc Mathematics
“
Free and private communication is crucial for a democratic society, and I believe that cryptography is the magic tool that can make this possible. Long live the Cypherpunk Manifesto!
Gwendolyn Regina
VP, BD & APAC
Standford University - Entrepreneurship, Leadership Binance Labs, BNB Chain, Meta, Mashable
“
We don't just see the future; we build it. It's a privilege to be part of a company that bridges the gap between bold thinking and real-world execution.
John Camardo
VP OF PRODUCT MANAGEMENT
Cornell University - Operations Research and Information Engineering
Trusted By
