Strangelove

Strangelove is a blockchain development firm, validator, and venture capital lab focused on the Cosmos ecosystem and Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol. Founded in 2021 and evolving from an earlier network validation business called Pylon Validation, the company grew to more than 30 employees working on protocol development and open-source tooling for cross-chain infrastructure.

The firm maintains several open-source projects central to IBC operations, including the IBC Go Relayer, Interchain Test, Horcrux (a threshold signer for Tendermint-based validators), Packet Forward Middleware, and Cosmos Operator (a Kubernetes deployment tool for RPC nodes). Alongside its engineering work, Strangelove operates validator infrastructure for partner networks and invests in early-stage companies building in the decentralized finance space.

Strangelove was acquired by Ondo Finance in July 2025. The company is co-founded by Tyler Schmidt and Jack Zampolin, who previously contributed to Tendermint and the broader Cosmos protocol stack.