What Input Output does

Input Output (formerly IOHK) is a London-based, privately held blockchain research and engineering company founded in 2015 and led by CEO Charles Hoskinson. The company develops and maintains the Cardano layer-1 blockchain and a portfolio of adjacent products — Midnight (privacy-focused blockchain), Lace (light wallet), Pogun (Bitcoin-Cardano bridge), RealFi (DeFi platform), Catalyst (governance/funding), Identus (decentralized identity), Djed (algorithmic stablecoin), Blockfrost (API platform), and Quantum Hosky (gaming/partner chain) — anchored by its proprietary Ouroboros proof-of-stake consensus family (Praos, Phalanx, Leios).

The firm operates as a decentralized, community-governed engineering organization with 600+ staff distributed across 50+ countries. Core engineering work is structured around peer-reviewed research, formal verification, and a dedicated Input Output Research division publishing work in cryptography, distributed systems, formal methods, and governance. Notable 2026 technical milestones include the public launch of the Ouroboros Leios testnet ("Musashi Dojo"), an experimental zero-knowledge wallet recovery contract, and the Ouroboros Phalanx security upgrade.

Input Output's commercial model is unconventional: rather than selling software licenses or SaaS, the company is funded primarily through Cardano's on-chain community treasury, where it submits milestone-gated proposals voted on by delegate representatives (DReps). In 2026, the company submitted nine proposals totaling $46.8M, roughly half of the prior year's $97.5M request, reflecting an explicit pivot toward a self-sufficient operational model. Secondary revenue/mission vectors include the Venture Studio (founder incubation), partnership integrations (e.g., Circle's USDCx, DFX/SPAR retail payments in Switzerland), and developer tooling distributed via Blockfrost and Lace. Pricing for commercial products is not publicly disclosed and there are no traditional enterprise customers paying subscription fees at meaningful scale.

Name

Input Output

Legal name

Input Output Group

Website

https://iohk.io

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Input Output is a London-based blockchain research and engineering company that builds and maintains the Cardano layer-1 blockchain and a suite of adjacent protocols (Midnight, Lace, Djed, Pogun, RealFi, Identus). It serves developers and the Cardano community, funded primarily through on-chain treasury proposals rather than traditional commercial sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Blockchain Infrastructure

NAICS

Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (52232), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518)

SIC

Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

On-Chain Payments & Stablecoin Infrastructure (Issuance, Rails, Treasury) (FSAGAMAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Crypto Payments & Stablecoin Settlement Platforms (BPAMAFAL), Stablecoin Payment Rails & Settlement Networks (Issuer-Led) (FSADADAF), Blockchain Data & Indexing Infrastructure for Finance (Nodes, Indexers, Oracles) (FSAGAMAL), Enterprise Payments & Tokenized Money (stablecoins, tokenized deposits, CBDC rails) (FSAPAIAJ)

Keywords

• Blockchain infrastructure
• Layer 1 blockchain
• Decentralized finance
• Smart contracts platform
• Blockchain research engineering

Headquarters

HQ city

Hong Kong

HQ country

Hong Kong SAR China

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Cardano Treasury Funding: Input Output receives funding through Cardano's on-chain treasury governance system. The company submits funding proposals to the community treasury, which are voted on by delegate representatives (DReps). Funding is structured as milestone-gated disbursements. In 2026, Input Output submitted nine treasury proposals totaling $46.8 million, approximately 50% less than the $97.5 million requested in the previous year.
2. Venture Studio Services: The Venture Studio supports founders at every stage from idea to spinout, with research, governance, incentives, and systems design. This includes scientific integrity, modular launchpad infrastructure, and cybernetic intelligence services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Input Output builds and operates foundational blockchain infrastructure, led by the Cardano research-backed layer-1 blockchain and the Midnight privacy blockchain. It sells a portfolio of complementary products including the Lace wallet, Pogun Bitcoin DeFi bridge, RealFi DeFi platform, Djed stablecoin, Identus decentralized identity, Blockfrost API, and Catalyst governance tooling, along with a Venture Studio that supports founders building on its platforms.

Product overview

Input Output operates as a blockchain research and engineering company offering a platform-plus-products architecture. The core platform consists of Cardano (research-backed Layer 1 blockchain) and Midnight (fourth-generation privacy blockchain). The product portfolio includes Lace (light wallet), Pogun (Bitcoin-Cardano bridge for Bitcoin DeFi), RealFi (DeFi finance platform), Catalyst (community voting and funding), Identus (decentralized identity), Djed (stablecoin), Blockfrost (Cardano API platform for developers), and Quantum Hosky (4D gamescape/partner chain). Additional offerings include Venture Studio for startup support and research division advancing cryptography, distributed systems, and formal methods.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Cardano: Research-backed layer 1 blockchain
• Midnight
• Lace
• Pogun
• RealFi
• Catalyst
• Identus
• Djed
• Blockfrost
• Quantum Hosky

Products and services

• Cardano Research-backed layer-1 blockchain platform providing the foundational infrastructure for decentralized applications and smart contracts, developed by Input Output using the Ouroboros proof-of-stake consensus family.
• Midnight Fourth-generation privacy blockchain developed by Input Output, designed to provide confidential data handling capabilities for enterprise and decentralized applications.
• Lace Light wallet platform enabling users to manage digital assets, stake ADA, and interact with Cardano dApps through a user-friendly interface.
• Pogun Bitcoin-Cardano bridge enabling Bitcoin DeFi integration on the network, allowing BTC holders to access decentralized finance capabilities on Cardano.
• RealFi Finance platform providing DeFi capabilities on Cardano, including lending, borrowing, and other decentralized financial services.
• Catalyst Project voting and funding platform enabling community-governed treasury allocation and decentralized decision-making for Cardano ecosystem initiatives.
• Identus Decentralized identity solution providing self-sovereign identity capabilities for users and organizations on blockchain networks.
• Djed Stablecoin built on Cardano providing algorithmic stablecoin functionality with over-collateralization mechanisms for price stability.
• Blockfrost Cardano API platform providing developers with RESTful API access to interact with the Cardano blockchain, enabling dApp development and integration.
• Quantum Hosky 4D gamescape and partner chain exploring innovative gaming and interactive experiences on Cardano's blockchain infrastructure.
• Venture Studio Startup support program supporting founders from idea to spinout with research, governance, incentives, and systems design for building new infrastructure, applications, or services.

Quantifiable outcome

• Leios upgrade targets 10-65x throughput increase, from 4.5 KB/s to 200 KB/s, aiming for over 1,000 transactions per second
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• CirclecoreTechnology or Integration · 25 March 2026Circle launched USDCx on the Cardano blockchain through the xReserve framework, which now holds a 36% share of the stablecoin market on Cardano with a supply of $47 million. USDCx is backed by USDC reserves held in Circle's xReserve to enable DeFi, lending, and payment functions.
• DFX (Swiss fintech)coreTechnology or Integration · 8 March 2026Partnership with Swiss fintech DFX to integrate ADA for payments at 137 SPAR Supermarkets across Switzerland, offering faster settlements and lower transaction costs for users. This represents Cardano's entry into real-world retail payment infrastructure.
• Midnight TeamcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInput Output collaborates with the Midnight team on zero-knowledge wallet recovery projects. Midnight is a fourth-generation privacy blockchain being developed as part of Input Output's ecosystem, with shared infrastructure, research, and governance connecting it to Cardano.
• IntersectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIntersect is Cardano's member-based governance body that facilitates on-chain governance voting, treasury funding decisions, and community coordination. Input Output works with Intersect for governance operations and proposal voting through their governance platform.
• TeragonecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTeragone has taken over the Mithril workstream for Cardano development, representing a transition of specialist development responsibilities. This follows the announcement that Mithril moves to Teragone as the next phase of specialist development.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Ethereum Foundation: Supports the Ethereum Layer 1 blockchain and ecosystem. Directly comparable as a research-driven foundation funding core protocol development, ecosystem tooling, and Layer-1 scaling research (rollups, consensus upgrades) — competing with Cardano for developer mindshare and DeFi/stablecoin liquidity.
• Solana Foundation: Supports the Solana Layer 1 blockchain, focused on high-throughput performance. A direct competitor to Cardano on the L1 layer, with a similar model of foundation-led research, ecosystem grants, and validator/governance communities.
• Polygon Labs: Develops the Polygon Layer-2 and AggLayer ecosystem on top of Ethereum. Comparable as a multi-product blockchain infrastructure company building scaling, payments, and identity (Polygon ID) solutions that overlap with IOG's Lace/RealFi/Identus stack.
• Web3 Foundation / Polkadot: Funds the Polkadot relay chain and parachain ecosystem via an on-chain treasury model similar to Cardano's. Strongly comparable on governance/funding mechanics (treasury proposals, on-chain voting) and on the research-first approach to consensus (Nominated Proof-of-Stake).
• Algorand Foundation: Funds the Algorand Layer 1 blockchain and its research/governance efforts. Closely comparable as a research-driven, pure-proof-of-stake L1 with foundation-led ecosystem grants, stablecoin initiatives, and tokenized-asset partnerships.
• Avalanche Foundation: Supports the Avalanche Layer 1 and subnet ecosystem. Comparable as a multi-chain L1 platform pursuing enterprise and stablecoin/real-world-asset use cases — overlapping with IOG's Djed, Identus, and Midnight enterprise positioning.
• Tezos Foundation: Funds the Tezos Layer 1 blockchain, also known for formal-verification-friendly consensus and on-chain governance. Highly comparable on the academic, formal-methods-driven engineering culture and on-chain self-amendment/governance model.
• NEAR Foundation: Funds the NEAR Layer 1 blockchain with a focus on sharding and account-based scaling. Comparable as a research-driven L1 pursuing throughput (Nightshade sharding) similar in ambition to Leios, and as a foundation-led ecosystem funder.

Others

• Circle: Issuer of USDC and operator of the xReserve framework that underpins USDCx on Cardano. Comparable as a stablecoin/payment-rails counterparty that IOG must integrate with, and a proxy for institutional-grade stablecoin infrastructure that competes with IOG's Djed.

Broad incumbents

• Hyperledger Foundation: Linux Foundation-hosted umbrella for enterprise blockchain projects (Hyperledger Fabric, Besu, Identus). Directly comparable because Identus is hosted there, and overlapping on enterprise identity and permissioned-chain tooling that intersects with Midnight.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/inputoutputHK
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/IohkIo
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/input-output-group

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Subsidiaries10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Input Output