DAYTON, Ohio – April 2, 2026 – Niobium, a leader in hardware acceleration for fully homomorphic encryption (FHE), today introduced The Fog™, a private cloud infrastructure platform that enables organizations to run applications and AI workloads on data that remains encrypted at all times, even during computation. Like fog, nothing inside can be seen from the outside. Decryption keys remain exclusively with the data owner, and Niobium has no access to customer data at any stage of computation. The platform is now available in private beta, with a public launch targeted for late Q2 2026.
The Fog redefines what organizations can do with their most sensitive and valuable data. Backed by FHE, which is mathematically proven to keep data private, The Fog enables organizations to use sensitive data without exposing it, addressing a longstanding challenge in cloud computing. This architecture enables full use of regulated data sets, secure collaboration across partners, and private AI and ML applications.
“For too long, organizations have had to accept data exposure as the cost of doing business in the cloud,” said Kevin Yoder, CEO of Niobium. “The Fog eliminates that tradeoff. We’re building a cloud platform where data can be used without ever being revealed. Our goal is to make encrypted computing practical, scalable, and accessible to the teams that need it most.”
The Fog is a self-service encrypted cloud platform that allows developers and enterprises to provision servers and custom hardware, deploy FHE applications, and run production workloads without sharing decryption keys with any third party, including Niobium. Users manage every aspect through a unified cloud portal, simplifying access to encrypted compute infrastructure.
To lead the cloud infrastructure buildout, Niobium has appointed Rob Sherrard as Head of Cloud.
“Encrypted compute is the next platform shift, and we’re building the infrastructure that makes it not just possible, but inevitable,” said Sherrard. “Inside The Fog, computation happens entirely under encryption. Owners hold the keys, the fog never lifts, and the work still gets done.”
FPGA Performance Today, ASIC Acceleration Ahead
The Fog is designed to address the two primary barriers that have historically limited FHE adoption: performance and usability.
The Fog launches on the mistic™ Core FPGA accelerator, delivering up to 2x faster FHE performance than any GPU or accelerator currently on the market.
Niobium is also developing a purpose-built ASIC in partnership with SEMIFIVE and Samsung Foundry. The ASIC will deliver significantly higher performance while remaining fully software-compatible with applications built on The Fog today, allowing early users to transition seamlessly as new hardware becomes available.
First FHE Applications
The Fog will also launch with a library of pre-built FHE applications designed to demonstrate real-world encrypted compute use cases and to lower barriers to adoption. Initial applications include:
- Encrypted Semantic Search (Secure RAG): Query sensitive data by meaning rather than exact match, protecting both the query and the underlying dataset throughout.
- Federated Learning: Train models across distributed, encrypted datasets without centralizing or exposing the underlying data.
- Machine Learning Classification (e.g. Network Intrusion Detection): Analyze encrypted data to identify patterns and threats without exposing underlying information.
Additional template applications are in development.
Developer Access and Ecosystem
The Fog is backed by a complete software ecosystem designed to make FHE accessible to developers without a background in cryptography. The stack includes a compiler, SDK, template applications, documentation, and a single pane of glass for managing hardware, applications, and workloads. Together, they turn FHE into a practical engineering tool.
Private beta access to The Fog is available now. Early access participants receive:
- Early access to the mistic Core FPGA accelerator hardware
- First access to new platform features, applications, and performance updates ahead of public launch
- Direct engagement with the Niobium engineering and cryptography team
Developers and organizations interested in early access can sign up and get more information at niobium.co. The Fog is targeting a Q2 2026 public launch.
About Niobium
Niobium is building the first dedicated hardware platform designed to advance fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) into commercial applications. FHE keeps data encrypted even during computation, mathematically guaranteeing privacy. Niobium’s accelerator hardware and The Fog™ encrypted cloud platform give developers and enterprises the tools to compute on sensitive data without ever exposing it. Niobium is headquartered in Dayton, Ohio, with offices in Portland, Oregon, and San Francisco, California. More information is available at niobium.co.
Press Contact: niobium@castercomm.com