Former Solana Labs members form 'Anza' developer shop, prepare to unveil Agave validator client
Quick Take
- Ex-Solana Labs engineers and executives have a developer shop known as Anza.
- Anza will roll out a new client for Solana named Agave, forked from the original Solana Labs client.
A group of former engineers and executives from Solana Labs has formed a developer shop known as Anza, which is planning to introduce a new validator client for Solana called Agave, adding to the multiple client teams on the network.
While starting with a single client software used by developers to access the network, Solana has gradually expanded to multiple clients including those from Solana Labs, Jito and Tinydancer.
Another highly anticipated Firedancer client is in development by Jump Crypto.
Anza will contribute to this area by launching the Agave client, forked from the original Solana Labs client. Agave is expected to release on the mainnet later this year, according to its website.
Besides core engineering contributions, Anza said it would "focus on ecosystem-wide improvements such as token extensions and Solana permissioned environments."
Founding team
Anza announced its founding team features several core members from Solana Labs including Jeff Washington, a former engineer at Solana Labs, who will serve as Anza's CEO.
"After 3 years at Solana Labs today I'm excited to announce Anza, a Solana-focused dev shop, where I will be leading as CEO," Washington said in a statement on X.
Jed Halfon, who formerly managed strategy at Solana Labs, will assume the role of chief strategy officer for Anza.
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