Built on Unbreakable Math
Seed Round: $500K-750K
December 2025
Benjamin Rizkin, PhD
Founder & CEO
projecthelixHQ@gmail.com
(978) 399-8730
August 2024
6,100 Qubits (IBM, 2025)
The Goldilocks Window: Problem recognized, standards finalized, competitors haven't adapted
"A major pharmaceutical company recalled $47M of product because their serialization system was compromised using a 2048-bit RSA vulnerability. This will happen again—until the industry adopts post-quantum cryptography."
Systems deployed today will still be operational when quantum computers break them
Quantum Vulnerability: Every blockchain uses ECDSA signatures. When quantum computers break ECDSA (2030-2035), every NFT authentication becomes worthless overnight.
Platform Dependency: Your authentication only works while Ethereum/Polygon/etc exist. 50 years from now? Good luck.
No Physical Binding: A digital signature proves nothing about the physical object you're holding.
| Requirement | NFTs/Blockchain | LATTICE AUTH |
|---|---|---|
| Survives quantum computers | ❌ ECDSA breaks 2030-2035 | ✅ ML-DSA (NIST approved) |
| Works without internet | ❌ Requires RPC node | ✅ Self-contained packages |
| No platform dependency | ❌ Dies with blockchain | ✅ Standalone verification |
| Physical certificate | ❌ Digital only | ✅ Laser-etched hologram |
| Cost per item | $50-500 gas fees | $149/mo unlimited |
| Still works in 2075 | ❌ Platform risk | ✅ Cryptographic proof |
We're Not Digitizing Authentication
We're creating unforgeable physical-digital certificates that work without blockchain, without platforms, and without quantum vulnerability. The cryptography is unbreakable. The hologram is physically bound to the signature. The artifact survives 50+ years.
This is what galleries buy. The same technology secures pharmaceutical serialization. Tilt the hologram, upload your own image, see the quantum-resistant signature in real-time.
First customers in 90 days post-funding
NIST Standards: ML-DSA and SLH-DSA published August 2024 - removes uncertainty for enterprise adoption
Market Timing: Problem recognized, competitors haven't adapted, 18-24 month first-mover window
Regulatory Momentum: Federal mandate for PQC migration by 2035, pharma will follow
$149/month
Artist subscription (unlimited works)
Unit Economics:
$50K
6-month pilot deployment
$150K-300K/year
Production license per site
Unit Economics:
Internal tooling: 6 AI agents handle operations, marketing, sales support
Team structure: Founder + contracted specialists (design, validation, regulatory)
Result: $40K/month burn vs $75K+ for traditional startup (47% lower)
Target: 70 Artists
What Artists Get:
How This Differentiates:
Acquisition Channels:
Target: 5 Pilots by Month 24
What CMC Teams Get:
How This Differentiates:
Acquisition Channels:
Art provides cash flow and proof-of-concept while pharma deals mature. Different sales motions, different customer profiles, but the same underlying quantum-resistant authentication platform.
Phase 1: Months 1-12
Milestone: 70 artists, $125K ARR
Phase 2: Months 12-24
Milestone: 3 pilots, $1M ARR
Luxury goods • Legal documents • Research data • Museums/archives
Milestone: $5M ARR, Series A ready
| Feature | NFTs/Blockchain | LATTICE AUTH |
|---|---|---|
| Quantum-resistant | ❌ ECDSA | ✅ ML-DSA |
| Works offline | ❌ Needs RPC | ✅ Self-contained |
| Cost per item | $50-500 gas | $149-249 flat |
| Survives 50 years | ❌ Platform risk | ✅ Standalone |
| Physical certificate | ❌ Digital only | ✅ Hologram |
Why Incumbents Won't Catch Up Fast:
18-Month Window: NIST publication (Aug 2024) to incumbent product releases (est. Q1 2026). We're signing customers in this gap.
$250M
$12.5M by Year 3
Regulatory: US DSCSA, EU FMD, pending FDA PQC guidance
Technology: NIST standards finalized August 2024
Economics: $50M+ cost of serialization system failures
Pharmaceutical Operations (15+ years)
Technical & Entrepreneurial
Vision-Driven: Sees quantum threat 5-10 years before market, building infrastructure for 50+ year horizon
Domain Expertise: buotech strategy and operations, knows FDA compliance from CMC perspective, regulatory strategy
Technical Execution: PhD engineer who can architect complex systems, implemented production PQC
Capital Efficient: AI-first mindset, extremely lean pre-seed operations, founder-led execution
| Metric | Month 6 | Month 12 | Month 18 | Month 24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Art Customers | 15 | 70 | 150 | 200 |
| Art ARR | $27K | $125K | $268K | $358K |
| Pharma Pilots | 0 | 1 starting | 3 active | 5 (2 prod) |
| Pharma ARR | $0 | $25K | $150K | $600K |
| Total ARR | $27K | $150K | $418K | $958K |
| Monthly Burn | $40K | $45K | $55K | $65K |
| Scenario | Month 24 ARR | Runway | Risk Factors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Case ($625K) | $958K | 15 months | 20% MoM art growth, 40% pharma conversion |
| Conservative ($500K) | $680K | 12 months | 15% MoM art growth, 25% pharma conversion, 6-month pilot delays |
| Aggressive ($750K) | $1.2M | 18 months | 25% MoM art growth, 50% pharma conversion |
Key Assumption Risks:
• Art churn: Modeled 15% annual, could be 25% if value prop unclear
• Pharma pilot → production: 12-month conversion assumes no regulatory delays
• Gallery partnerships: Modeled 30% of customers, requires white-label agreements
Justification for Range: Conservative case ($500K) still hits break-even Month 22 with $680K ARR. Aggressive case ($750K) extends runway to 18 months and accelerates pharma validation budget. 60% premium accounts for uncertainty in pharma pilot timing.
TraceLink/Optel add ML-DSA signatures in 6 months
Mitigation:
18-24 month enterprise sales cycles
Mitigation:
FDA issues different PQC guidance
Mitigation:
Could incumbents just add this as a module?
Mitigation:
Method for generating laser interference patterns from post-quantum digital signatures, creating physically verifiable authentication
System for cryptographic verification of PQC-signed physical assets without network connectivity or platform dependency
Framework for maintaining multiple PQC algorithms in single artifact package, enabling future-proof authentication
Process for cryptographically linking holographic physical certificates to digital signatures via content-derived interference patterns
Seed Round: Provisional patent applications (4 innovations, ~$8K)
Series A: Full utility patents + international filing (PCT, ~$40K)
Trade Secrets: Specific hologram fabrication parameters, calibration algorithms
Market Size (Source: Mordor Intelligence):
Key Players:
Market Size (Source: Grand View Research):
Competitors:
Month 3: 5 beta artists, product-market fit confirmed
Month 6: 15 artists, $27K ARR, first pharma pilot signed
Month 9: 45 artists, $80K ARR, 2 gallery partnerships
Month 12: 70 artists, $150K ARR, 3 pharma pilots active
Month 1-6 (Seed Close):
Month 7-12 (First Pharma Pilot):
Month 13-18 (Scaling):
Competency Coverage:
Amount: $500K minimum, $750K target
Instrument: SAFE
Valuation Cap: $5M-6M
Discount: 20%
Close Date: Q1 2026
Domain Expertise: Pharmaceutical operations, cryptography/security, or enterprise SaaS
Value-Add: Customer intros (pharma CMC leaders or gallery owners), regulatory guidance, Series A support
Alignment: Believes quantum threat is real, values capital efficiency, patient capital (18-24 month pharma cycles)
Website launching Q1 2026
Built on Unbreakable Math