The Midnight Foundation, an organization dedicated to advancing the Midnight network, today announced a strategic collaboration with Google Cloud to advance privacy-first infrastructure development, and zero-knowledge technology as essential infrastructure for next-generation digital systems.
Most public blockchains expose sensitive transaction data, rendering them unsuitable for privacy-critical applications that require regulatory compliance.
Midnight was engineered specifically to solve this challenge. Based on research by Input Output, the team behind Cardano, the Midnight platform natively integrates zero-knowledge smart contracts into its protocol architecture, creating programmable privacy that enables selective disclosure at unprecedented scale.
This unlocks entirely new categories of applications. Financial institutions can facilitate private trading and cross-border payments while maintaining regulatory compliance. Governments can issue verifiable credentials without exposing citizen data. Healthcare systems can share patient insights for research while preserving individual privacy.
“Organizations are under pressure to innovate with sensitive data while maintaining complete control over it,” said Fahmi Syed, President of the Midnight Foundation. “Midnight transforms privacy from a technical barrier into a competitive advantage, enabling confidential financial systems, verifiable digital identity, and secure applications that can operate at scale with regulatory compliance built in.“
Under the collaboration, Google Cloud will operate critical network infrastructure including running a validator for Midnight and other infrastructure services to support the network’s growth. This delivers the reliability and performance standards required for enterprise deployment and developer adoption.
Built leveraging Confidential Computing from Google Cloud, Midnight’s ZKP (zero-knowledge proof) system protects private data — including removing the operator of the environment from the trust boundary along with hardened protection against cloud service provider access.
“The future of enterprise applications requires both transparency and privacy,“ said Richard Widmann, Head of Web3 Strategy and Operations at Google Cloud. “By providing scalable infrastructure , we’re enabling developers to experiment with innovative zero knowledge frameworks to verify transactions without exposing sensitive data.“
Midnight’s work with Google Cloud’s also extends beyond infrastructure. Mandiant will provide advanced threat monitoring and incident response capabilities to developers building on Midnight, delivering the security assurances essential for adoption across regulated industries.
Projects building on Midnight Network will also have the opportunity to apply to join the Google for Startups Web3 Program. Qualifying Web3 startups will be able to access benefits including up to US$200,000 in Google Cloud Platform Credits over two years to build, secure and scale applications with Cloud and AI, and learning resources including training and mentorship.
This collaboration helps developers, startups, and enterprises innovate across advancements in zero-knowledge, incident response, and privacy-enhancing technologies.
About Midnight Foundation
The Midnight Foundation is an organization dedicated to advancing the development, adoption, and real-world impact of the Midnight network, the privacy-enhancing blockchain project developed in conjunction with Shielded Technologies. Designed for privacy-enabling smart contracts, Midnight encourages developers to consider the power of building compliant applications with selective disclosures. It leverages zero-knowledge proofs and a cooperative tokenomics architecture—with $NIGHT as the utility token and DUST as the utility resource—to deliver a powerful combination of rational privacy, security, and decentralization.
Learn more at https://midnight.foundation
