# Input Output Group

> Input Output Group, now publicly branded as Input Output, is the research-and-engineering company founded by Charles Hoskinson that created Cardano and has expanded into a venture studio spanning privacy, wallets, developer infrastructure, decentralized identity, community funding and Bitcoin DeFi. Its signature is a research-first development process: formal methods, peer-reviewed cryptography and open-source engineering are used to turn academic work into networks and products for developers, institutions, governments and individual users.

- **Founded:** 2015
- **Headquarters:** Singapore, Singapore
- **Founders:** Charles Hoskinson (Founder and CEO)
- **Team size:** 600+ people across 50+ countries; LinkedIn lists 501-1,000 employees.
- **Products:** Cardano, Midnight, Lace, Pogun, Blockfrost
- **Notable:** Founded and led the engineering of Cardano, whose mainnet launched in 2017., Produced more than 250 peer-reviewed papers between 2015 and 2020, according to the company., Developed the Ouroboros family of proof-of-stake consensus protocols.

## Products & services

- **Cardano** — A proof-of-stake blockchain platform designed from peer-reviewed research and formal methods.
- **Midnight** — A zero-knowledge layer-1 network focused on programmable data privacy.
- **Lace** — An open-source wallet for managing assets, staking and accessing decentralized applications across an expanding set of chains.
- **Pogun** — Bitcoin DeFi infrastructure designed to enable cross-chain liquidity and smart-contract applications.
- **Blockfrost** — APIs, SDKs and hosted infrastructure that let developers access blockchain data without operating all backend components themselves.
- **RealFi** — Blockchain-based financial infrastructure aimed at underserved entrepreneurs and small businesses.
- **Djed** — A Cardano-based overcollateralized stablecoin whose design is supported by formal analysis.
- **Project Catalyst** — A community-governed funding program for Cardano ecosystem projects.
- **Identus** — An open-source decentralized identity and verifiable-credentials framework contributed to the Hyperledger ecosystem.
- **Quantum Hosky** — An experimental gamescape and partner-chain research environment exploring quantum-safe architectures.

## Achievements

- Founded and led the engineering of Cardano, whose mainnet launched in 2017.
- Produced more than 250 peer-reviewed papers between 2015 and 2020, according to the company.
- Developed the Ouroboros family of proof-of-stake consensus protocols.
- IO Research passed 10,000 academic citations by late 2024.
- Chief scientist Aggelos Kiayias received the 2024 BCS Lovelace Medal and was named an ACM Fellow in 2026.
- Delivered 16 of 18 Cardano treasury-funded commitments across Q4 2025 and Q1 2026, with funds returned for two canceled projects.
- Cardano node work reduced memory requirements by up to 80% through UTXO HD.
- The Ethiopia education-credential pilot registered 38,000 pupils by June 2023 before the technology evolved into Hyperledger Identus.

## Latest updates

- **2026-08** — Four core engineering functions began transitioning from IO Labs to the independent ICAN Group as part of a wider engineering decentralization effort.
- **2026-07** — Input Output published Q2 Cardano delivery reporting and a mid-year Cardano Vision 26 research update.
- **2026-04** — The company proposed nine 2026 Cardano treasury workstreams totaling $46.8 million, about half its prior-year request.
- **2026-04** — It stopped Acropolis and tiered-pricing development and returned ₳4.1 million to the Cardano treasury.
- **2026-04** — Input Output announced a blockchain, AI and healthcare research laboratory with the Archimedes Research Unit in Athens.
- **2026-02** — USDCx launched on Cardano; more than 15 million USDCx was minted in its first week, according to Input Output.
- **2025-12** — Input Output Global rebranded as Input Output Group, reflecting its evolution into a venture studio and broader technology portfolio.

## Links

- Website: https://www.iog.io/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/input-output-group/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/IOGroup
- GitHub: https://github.com/input-output-hk
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/IohkIo
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/iohk.io/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/input-output-group
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-12