After a whirlwind of announcements at Consensus Hong Kong on the Auros Stage, Charles Hoskinson, CEO of Input Output has confirmed Midnight mainnet will launch next month.
The launch of mainnet represents another significant step in fulfilling the roadmap established at last year’s Midnight Summit. Mainnet launch is the primary milestone of the Kūkolu phase, which focuses on strengthening infrastructure and achieving operational stability.
Midnight will expand to encompass distinct federated node operators that will collectively operate the protocol under explicit rules for participation and coordination.
As stewards of the network, the Midnight Foundation intends to transition from this federated model to a fully decentralized state. Fahmi Syed, President of the Midnight Foundation, noted that this path will be “stewarded thoughtfully and responsibly”. While node operators already operate on the Preprod network, their participation in the mainnet will provide the secure, enterprise-grade foundation necessary for live applications to thrive during this stage of development.
Federated node partners
The following organizations are part of a network of trusted partners that will operate Midnight federated nodes. Each brings specific expertise to the network's early operations and unique expertise to building out utility for a broad range of applications.
Google Cloud
The collaboration between the Midnight Foundation and Google Cloud provides the technical foundation required for enterprise-level deployment and security. Google Cloud will operate critical network infrastructure, including running a federated node for Midnight, as well as other services aimed at supporting the network’s growth.
To strengthen network resilience, the Mandiant division of Google Cloud will provide advanced threat monitoring and incident response for the network. This offers the security assurances necessary for adoption in regulated industries. Furthermore, Midnight’s ZKP technology will leverage Confidential Computing from the Google Cloud system to protect private data. This includes removing the operator of the environment from the trust boundary along with hardened protection against cloud service provider access.
Read more about the strategic collaboration with Google Cloud.
Richard Widmann, Head of Web3 Strategy and Operations at Google Cloud explains the collaboration:
“By providing scalable infrastructure, we're enabling developers to experiment with innovative zero knowledge frameworks to verify transactions without exposing sensitive data.”
Blockdaemon
Blockdaemon secures $110B+ in digital assets and provides institutional-grade blockchain infrastructure for world-leading financial institutions. As a federated node operator, Blockdaemon will contribute its extensive experience in operating secure and scalable nodes to ensure Midnight's deployment is managed with a high degree of operational security and reliability.
This commitment to Midnight is part of a broader strategic partnership that is intended to meet growing client demand for privacy-enhancing decentralized infrastructure for regulated markets.
Read more about the collaboration with Blockdaemon.
AlphaTON
AlphaTON Capital is a public technology company specializing in scaling infrastructure for the Telegram super-app and its one billion users. As a node operator, AlphaTON provides the vertically integrated technology stack required to bring privacy-preserving AI to the TON ecosystem. By layering Midnight’s programmable privacy onto Telegram’s Cocoon AI—a confidential compute network—AlphaTON will enable users to interact with sophisticated AI agents for finance and commerce without exposing their personal data.
Enzo Villani, Chairman of the Board at AlphaTON Capital, views this infrastructure as the backbone of the new digital economy:
“By building the critical infrastructure that enables confidential AI on a global platform, we are creating a highly scalable revenue stream. We are capturing a first-mover advantage in a market where users are increasingly seeking digital sovereignty over centralized models that harvest their information.”
Shielded Technologies
Born from the cryptographic expertise of Input Output (IOG), Shielded Technologies is the engineering engine room behind the Midnight Network. They are the architects of the protocol’s foundation, specializing in the high-stakes cryptographic engineering required to make data privacy a reality at scale.
Beyond the core protocol, Shielded develops the essential toolkit—including the Compact smart contract language—designed to make privacy-preserving logic accessible to every developer. Shielded Technologies will operate node infrastructure to maintain network stability.
Bob Blessing-Hartley, CTO of Shielded Technologies, highlights the significant of mainnet launch:
“At Shielded Technologies, we aren’t just developing Midnight’s protocol, we’re engineering the fundamental infrastructure that will unlock real-world participation. [...] Transitioning from not only developing Midnight’s infrastructure, but now helping to run and secure it, reflects our confidence in the network’s readiness and our commitment to seeing this architecture operate at scale.”
What’s Next?
Check back on this blog regularly for a full recap of the Consensus Hong Kong announcements and further details regarding all federated node partners for the Midnight mainnet.
Additional information and technical updates on mainnet readiness will be published over the coming weeks.
Connect with the Midnight community right now on Discord.