About
This week, Anna and Nico catch up with Srinath Setty, researcher at Microsoft. They look back at his research since his work on Nova, spanning lattice-based folding, zero-knowledge identity proofs, and lookups and memory checking, much of which traces back to his 2019 work, Spartan.
The bulk of the conversation is on Magnetar, his newly released zkVM. Built only on standard hash functions, it aims to be among the most secure general-purpose zkVMs, and it also turned out to be dramatically faster than many existing systems. Srinath explains how it’s put together, where the speed comes from, and what’s still left to build.
Related links:
New from the Zero Knowledge Podcast and Succinct: the 2026 ZK Industry Report, a snapshot of ZK’s tech, research and real-world adoption. Free at zeroknowledge.fm/zk-industry-report-2026 **If you like what we do:** * Consider becoming a zkMesh+ Subscriber * Subscribe to our podcast newsletter * Follow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefm * Join us on Telegram * Catch us on YouTube Read transcript
- Magnetar: High-speed post-quantum RV64 zkVM from standard hashesProof-based general-purpose computing with Magnetar(Microsoft Research blog)BinarySpartan: Spartan over binary fieldsSpartan: Efficient and general-purpose zkSNARKs without trusted setupNeo and SuperNeo: Post-quantum folding with pay-per-bit costs over small fieldsLatticeFold: A Lattice-based Folding Scheme and its Applications to Succinct Proof SystemsVega: Low-Latency Zero-Knowledge Proofs over Existing CredentialsUnlocking the lookup singularity with LassoJolt: SNARKs for Virtual Machines via LookupsTwist and Shout: Faster memory checking arguments via one-hot addressing and incrementsLigerito: A Small and Concretely Fast Polynomial Commitment SchemeArc: Accumulation for Reed-Solomon CodesWARP: Linear-Time Accumulation SchemesFlock: Fast Proving for Batch Boolean ComputationsZK Podcast: Nova and Beyond with Srinath SettyZK Podcast: Lattices, Folding, & Symphony with Binyi ChenZK Podcast: Episode 404 with Benedikt BünzZK Podcast: Episode 410 with Ron Rothblum
New from the Zero Knowledge Podcast and Succinct: the 2026 ZK Industry Report, a snapshot of ZK’s tech, research and real-world adoption. Free at zeroknowledge.fm/zk-industry-report-2026 **If you like what we do:** * Consider becoming a zkMesh+ Subscriber * Subscribe to our podcast newsletter * Follow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefm * Join us on Telegram * Catch us on YouTube Read transcript