Ovochain: creating a trusted cyberspace for all

Ovochain's story began somewhat by chance. In 2018, William Famy, a graduate from the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Cachan (now ENS Paris-Saclay), was approached by two friends working in cryptocurrency to address security issues at their centre. "I worked on this project for six months, devising concepts to develop an initial robust and reliable system that combined my interests in industrial automation, computing and mechanical engineering," explains William Famy. Based on this initial work, the specialist decided to set up his own business. He then reconnected with Jérome Joussen, whom he had met a decade earlier at the Institute of Political Studies in Aix-en-Provence during their economic intelligence course. Jérome was a member of the management team at Traxens, a company deploying the first logistics coordination platform for connected containers.

In 2021, the duo joined the Belle de Mai incubator in Marseille, which specialises in deep tech and the commercialisation of public research, to launch their project. They were joined by Suzy Goi, a skilled software engineer and project manager, who began coding the system's first components. The three colleagues founded Ovochain in June 2022, armed with a demonstrator of their technology. In September 2023, they launched a functional demonstration of their solution. The start-up is backed by the Aix-Marseille-Provence Amorçage initiation system and Bpifrance, which has recognised it as a deep tech start-up. It is part of the OVH start-up programme and ENS Paris-Saclay. A first patent has been filed for this technology, which the co-founders have named DeDNA³.
 

Secure data

"Currently, when a bank transfer is made, it is the user who triggers the action. With Ovochain, we create a token, which is the transfer order sent into the system. A digital butler, functioning as a meticulous organiser and general controller, then checks that the order is correct including that the right values and the right currency have been used, or that it is the right recipient. Once everything is verified, the system facilitates the transaction between the bank and the supplier," explains William Famy. Unlike existing systems, orders are not initiated from the computer that holds the bank account, but from a decentralised system that has no access to people's accounts. "This significantly enhances security and eliminates 99% of human errors," adds Jérome Joussen. It is this verification and decentralisation technology that the start-up is developing.

But the three partners have no intention of stopping there. Tokens are next-generation digital objects that can carry information, data or even programmes, and in the future, artificial intelligence. These tokens could therefore become autonomous digital agents capable of interacting in the hyper-connected, ultra-interactive internet of the future, enabling e-citizens and e-businesses to perform a variety of secure actions in complete confidence. These actions will be recorded on a blockchain system, ensuring complete traceability of all transactions. All events are therefore stored in memory.

With the development of artificial intelligence and the metaverse, this technology is rapidly set to become indispensable. "In the future, it will be possible to conduct transactions in the metaverse. This will require the creation of a hyper-interactive, yet highly secure internet. We need to find a new way of managing databases," says William Famy. Especially given the explosion in database hacking, as recently highlighted by the attacks on the social security system, France Travail and Free, and the need to review the protection of personal information, including that of companies.
 

Towards digital identity

Ovochain's system encrypts civil (surname, first name, nationality, driving license, bank details) and social identity (social networks, subscriptions, medical information, etc.) data within a virtual token. This eliminates the need to share comprehensive personal information when booking a hotel room or a car: the user simply presents their token. "The data are encrypted and not shared; only the payment authorisation for the bank account is sent. This allows individuals to be identified without sharing their personal information. That is what we're working on at Ovochain. This approach is known as Zero Knowledge Proof and it is heralded as the Holy Grail of future internet security," adds Jérome Joussen. Ovochain is currently developing digital identity solutions and looking for economic partners for this project. It is already working with ENS Paris-Saclay.

"The token's access is secure and belongs to the user who is responsible for the key. But we are developing solutions for lost keys, which would involve an authorised bailiff, bank or notary certifying that you are the token's owner, " explains William Famy. "Beyond encryption, the advantage of the decentralised system proposed by Ovochain is that the data remain anonymous and hidden. If the data are ever found, which is very complicated, they cannot be read because they are encrypted. The world as we imagine it is more secure and restores each person's power to decide whether or not to share their information. The very design of the system ensures that privacy is protected as much as possible. This is a completely different approach, one that runs counter to the data-selling practices of the major tech companies (GAFAM)," explains Jérome Joussen.

What about the carbon impact of this technology? The start-up asserts that, by simplifying the IT relationship, it will reduce the use of resources and therefore energy consumption. "We are aiming to cut electricity costs by 60% compared with interactions without our technology within 6 years," adds William Famy. The system proposed by Ovochain is based not on raw calculations, but on token modification, which reduces the number of calculations. The start-up's solution does not require large amounts of electricity to connect and execute tokens. It can operate on older computers and even mobile devices in the future.
 

A first application in real estate

Ovochain is currently developing its first application in the real estate sector. Using tokens, the target market will be able to create next-generation funds to finance energy retrofits and upgrades to the building stock. "Our technology provides the trust required for such transactions. All stakeholders will be secure on a shared IT platform. Our system will aggregate all data from banks, suppliers, service providers and beneficiaries, enabling them to communicate, give orders to each other or make transfers simply and securely," explains William Famy.

The start-up has completed the first version of the system for real estate and is working to bring together partner banks and major groups interested in financing the energy transition and retrofits. It also aimes to secure partnerships with real estate professionals and subsequently launch its first funding round to support growth and development. This includes a technology roadmap in which the co-founders name ENS Paris-Saclay as a strategic partner given the academic excellence of Université Paris-Saclay's laboratories.