Microsoft-backed blockchain data project Space and Time announced the launch of Space and Time Enterprise on Monday. The platform enables businesses to demonstrate that calculations using private data produced correct results without revealing the underlying records. AI applications, auditors and other stakeholders can verify those results without gaining access to the database.
Launch partners include Maple Finance, an onchain asset manager, and Indomobil, a vehicle manufacturer and distributor in Indonesia. Oracle software consultancy Trenez and The Data Foundation, a government-data nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., are also launch partners.
Nate Holiday, CEO of Space and Time's original developer MakeInfinite Labs, said businesses want AI agents to perform workflows using business information. However, Holiday said agents do not require unrestricted access to the records underlying each calculation. Holiday warned that unrestricted AI access creates another route for data exposure, potentially putting the entire business's value at risk. Holiday said the company is working with customers in construction, engineering and manufacturing that want to redesign systems around AI. Holiday said those customers want agents, reporting tools and compliance teams to use common business records and verify the calculations supporting their work.
Space and Time Enterprise uses Proof of SQL, the project's patented technology for verifying the correct execution of database queries. Space and Time said Proof of SQL already integrates with Google Cloud's BigQuery. Space and Time said businesses can now deploy the technology on their own servers without running a blockchain, purchasing specialized hardware or depending on an external proving service. Holiday said GPU acceleration allows supported queries involving millions of rows to execute and produce proofs in under a second, depending on the query, hardware and dataset.
The technology establishes whether a calculation correctly processed a particular set of records. However, the technology cannot determine whether the source records were accurate. Holiday said businesses still need data controls to detect incorrect entries. Holiday said verification strengthens those controls by providing evidence identifying the records used and establishing whether processing was correct.
Space and Time secured $20 million in strategic financing in 2022, with Microsoft's venture fund M12 leading the round. Grayscale introduced a trust last year that provides exposure to SXT, the token powering Space and Time's blockchain. Earlier this year, Space and Time introduced Dreamspace, an AI-powered tool developed using Microsoft's Azure AI services. Dreamspace enables users to build and deploy onchain applications without coding.
Space and Time also operates SXT Chain, a decentralized network providing verifiable data for DeFi, tokenized assets and stablecoins. Asked whether enterprise adoption would generate SXT demand, Holiday said businesses could install the product within their own environments. Holiday said the network would become relevant when customer applications need connections to onchain markets, with those workloads paid for through Space and Time.
Holiday said Microsoft's Nova project incorporates Blitzar, Space and Time's library for accelerating cryptographic operations. Holiday also said the team's development work on Dory, a commitment scheme, contributed to a16z crypto's Jolt proof system.