Introducing Tandem, a Partner Studio by Offchain Labs

When Ed, Harry, and I founded Offchain Labs six years ago, we were determined to tackle the biggest technical hurdles in the blockchain space head on. We didn’t let then-current conceptions about what was possible limit our ambition or define our goals. Our work on Arbitrum not only created a product; it defined the very future of our entire space. We’ve learned so much through our work over the past several years and we’re proud to have built what is largely regarded as the best team in the entire industry.

And today I’m excited to introduce Tandem by Offchain Labs, a studio that will allow select partners to tap into our vast resources as we work together to solve crypto’s hardest problems. Tandem will invest in teams both financially and through deep collaboration with the Offchain Labs team.

Offchain’s mission was never limited to scalability. It was about solving the hardest technical problems that were holding back the widespread adoption of smart contract blockchains. Six years ago that was scalability. Two years ago, we acquired the Prysm team and have contributed heavily to solving the largest issues facing Ethereum L1. Through Tandem, we will broaden our scope to support others but with the same focus: empower builders to remove the barriers of blockchain adoption and through these collaborations continue to improve the broader Arbitrum and Ethereum experience.

We can’t do this alone

Though we are builders at heart, our work has always been about more than just building great tech. It’s about empowering builders to extend the core technology and build unparalleled experiences for end users. As powerful as the Arbitrum technology is, it would be nothing without its community, and the common theme running through every success we’ve seen at Offchain Labs is collaboration.

Building together with others has long been one of the highlights of our work. Whether that’s strategic support or technical design help, we always strive to empower builders. In the early days of Arbitrum, in an era where other chains were handing out large grants, all we had to offer was our deep support. And during that era giants were born in the Arbitrum ecosystem, like GMX and Treasure, which today are two of the most successful projects in the entire space.

And it’s a two way street — we’ve supported countless builders over the years but we’ve also benefited immensely through these deep engagements. We love working with other teams, and many of the features we’ve developed over the years have been a direct result of working with developers and understanding their biggest wishes and pain points.

With Tandem, we’re taking our commitment to collaborate one step further, and we again expect this to be a two way street — one in which our resources supercharge other teams but also one that has a compounding effect in which Tandem projects improve the Arbitrum and Ethereum experience generally. I could not be more excited for this work and for the amazing results that I expect to emerge from it.

Introducing Tandem

Tandem is the natural evolution of our mission to solve the ecosystem’s most difficult challenges. Having tackled some of the hardest problems on both L1 and L2 through our work on Arbitrum and Prysm, we have built immense capabilities. And with Tandem, we’re ready to use these resources to supercharge others in their quest to build the next generation of blockchain apps and infrastructure.

And let me be explicit — our commitment to continuing our work on Arbitrum and Prysm has never been stronger. Indeed, we’ll be focusing on problems that complement the work we’re already doing and which will compound the successes we already have. Tandem will help solve problems whose solutions will not only be impactful in their own right but will benefit the broader Arbitrum and Ethereum ecosystem.

Tandem will initially focus on supporting teams in the pre-product phase and will focus on projects for which our support will have an outsized impact. Initially, we’ve identified two broad areas that we will support:

1. Innovative Blockchain Applications: Projects developing onchain solutions or applications that push the limits of what’s possible today and introduce novel functionalities within the blockchain ecosystem.
2. Problem-Solving Infrastructure: Projects creating vital infrastructure that addresses the core technological challenges of the blockchain industry and that complement our core work on Arbitrum and Prysm.

By focusing on these core areas, we believe that the total will be greater than the sum of its parts. We’ll be offering teams resources that they couldn’t otherwise access, and in doing so will enable them to be more ambitious and ultimately be more successful. Because of the strategic nature of the projects we support, our resources spent on Tandem will not only benefit the individual projects but will solve problems that will be of general interest and improve the entire Arbitrum and Ethereum ecosystem.

Comprehensive Support Services

With Tandem, our approach is hands-on and personalized, supporting teams in their largest areas of need. Our success won’t be measured in the number of partners, but in the impact we will jointly have. We intend to limit our support to just a handful of teams at any given time so that we can remain fully focussed on our core projects and give each partner deep and dedicated attention.

While every Tandem relationship will be different and custom-tailored to the individual team, some of the core areas of support will include:

• Research Support: Work closely with our research team to help recognize and scope open problems, and architect, analyze and design solutions. Aside from expertise in everything relating to Arbitrum and Ethereum, our research team includes experts in mechanism and protocol design, programming languages, formal verification, as well as cryptography and zero-knowledge proofs.
• Product Strategy: Craft and execute a detailed product development and launch strategy leveraging our experience and relationships.
• Roadmap Development: Assist with business development strategy, ensuring teams focus on the essential steps of product developments at the best times.
• Integration Support: Customized technical support ensures that each project can leverage the full capabilities of Offchain Labs technology and expertise.
• Partnerships and Marketing Strategy: From making introductions within our network to providing marketing support, we help teams build communities and identify and foster the partnerships they will need to succeed.
• Investment Support: We have allocated funds to invest in projects — both projects that we are supporting with other resources as well as standalone investments.

Whether enhancing the Arbitrum and Ethereum ecosystem, building novel and groundbreaking applications or strengthening blockchain infrastructure as a whole, our mission remains clear: to accelerate the deployment and adoption of crucial technologies that will benefit the entire ecosystem and benefit from Offchain’s resources and expertise.

Proven Partnership Success

Tandem is a natural evolution that builds on our strong track record of successful collaborations. As an example of what Tandem can achieve, I want to highlight two existing partnerships that will be rolled into the Tandem umbrella where Offchain Labs has played a significant role in supporting another team.

One standout example is our partnership with Espresso Systems, where we’ve collaborated with them in the design of decentralized sequencing technologies. The partnership hits all of the key aspects that we’re looking for in a partnership: Espresso is working on some of the hardest problems in the space including sequencer design and efficiency as well as interoperability. And Espresso’s core offering is distinct from our core products but complements them well. Espresso’s success has the potential to benefit all Arbitrum chains.

“Working with Offchain Labs has catalyzed our progress across go-to-market, product, and R&D at Espresso. You could not ask for a more proactive, sharp, and seasoned team to work with as an extension of your own” said Jill Gunter, Chief Strategy Officer at Espresso Systems. “Whether we are sharing insights on the needs of developers in the rollup space or sparring on ideas at the cutting edge of research, the Offchain team brings a deep level of rigor, thoughtfulness, and passion to the conversation. They are also a blast to work with. From weekly catch-ups to conference hangouts, the time I spend with Offchain is time that I consistently find myself looking forward to.”

As a second example, we collaborated with Ex Populus and supported their launch of the XAI blockchain, which is having immense success in the gaming sector. The XAI chain was the earliest example of a team customizing the Arbitrum technology stack to match their business needs. While today, there are over 50 teams building their own Arbitrum Orbit chain, XAI was the very first and even predated the launch of the Arbitrum Orbit program. It was through our close work with XAI to launch the network that we came to understand the needs of chain developers and we were able to to develop the Arbitrum Orbit offering to directly address those needs. While we were certainly instrumental in XAI’s successful launch, I can also confirm the reverse and confidently say that if it wasn’t for the deep work we did with XAI, the Arbitrum Orbit program would not be as successful as it is today.

“Offchain Labs provided the Xai project with the first L3 leveraging AnyTrust technology, giving us a significant advantage that would not have been possible without their support” said Soby, a core contributor to Xai. “Additionally, Offchain Labs was instrumental in supporting various marketing initiatives as the XAI team launched its ecosystem, including testnet marketing, mainnet activities, and multiple initiatives around the games and dApps in the XAI ecosystem. Our successful launch would not have been possible without Offchain’s support.”

As we launch Tandem by Offchain Labs, these success stories underscore our strategic approach to partnerships. By prioritizing deep technical bets that complement our core offerings, we not only foster innovation but also create sustainable impacts that resonate throughout the blockchain community.

Get involved

In an industry defined by interoperability and collaboration on every level, I could not be more excited to announce Tandem, which will see us build deeper and more meaningful collaborations to accelerate blockchain adoption. And in the spirit of collaboration, there are so many ways to get involved.

For project teams, if you’re working on one of crypto’s hardest problems and can benefit from Offchain’s vast resources, get in touch. For individuals, if you want to join the most stacked team in crypto, we are hiring for many roles throughout the company including dedicated roles for Tandem (Research Lead & Portfolio Lead). So if you’re passionate about Ethereum and Arbitrum, and love supporting ecosystem builders, please do get in touch.

The last few years have been nothing short of amazing. We’ve come a long way as a team and a community, built some of the most widely adopted blockchain tech, and together as a community accomplished things that many thought were impossible years ago. But there’s so much more that we can do, and with Tandem we’ll be increasing our collaboration and renewing our commitment to support builders in creating an even better tomorrow.