A Decade of Building: The Story of Parity Technologies

In 2015, a small group of engineers and visionaries came together with a shared conviction: the internet could, and should, work differently.

Led by Dr. Gavin Wood, co-founder of Ethereum and author of its yellow paper, and Jutta Steiner, Ethereum's former Chief of Security, the team founded ETHCore with a mission to build the most advanced, reliable, and decentralised blockchain infrastructure possible.

What began as a niche engineering outfit quickly grew into a team shaping the future of blockchain technology. The foundation laid in those early days would eventually become Parity Technologies, a driving force behind the Polkadot network and a pioneer in modular blockchain development.

To celebrate, we brought together four top Parity voices - Kian Paimani, Gavin Wood, Erin Grasmick, and Bastian Köcher - for an open, unscripted conversation about the journey so far.

Early Breakthroughs

Parity's first significant milestone was the development of the first Rust blockchain client, setting new standards for performance, reliability, and security. This engineering choice signalled our commitment to building in a way that could endure and adapt.

From there came Parity Ethereum, one of the fastest and most efficient Ethereum clients at the time, widely used by developers, enterprises, and the Ethereum community itself. These early products proved Parity's engineering calibre and established its role as an innovator in the blockchain space.

The Shift to Polkadot

While Ethereum was evolving rapidly, Gavin Wood was already imagining the next frontier: a blockchain network capable of true interoperability, one where multiple chains could work together, each optimised for its purpose, yet sharing security and communication.

This vision led to the creation of Polkadot, a heterogeneous multi-chain architecture designed to overcome the scalability, governance, and upgradeability limitations of earlier blockchain designs. Parity became the engineering powerhouse building the network's foundations, from its Relay Chain to its developer framework, Substrate.

Substrate: The Builder's Toolkit

Launched in 2018, Substrate transformed blockchain development. It enabled teams to build custom blockchains faster, without having to reinvent core infrastructure. Today, Substrate powers Polkadot's parachains and even networks outside the Polkadot ecosystem, a testament to the adaptability of Parity's technology.

This innovation cemented Parity's role not just as the maintainer of a network, but as a platform provider empowering entire ecosystems.

Key Turning Points

Over the past decade, several moments defined Parity's evolution:

• 2015--2016: Launch of ETHCore and the first Rust blockchain client.
• 2017: Release of Parity Ethereum client, achieving top-tier performance.
• 2018: Introduction of Substrate and the early Polkadot testnets.
• 2020: Polkadot mainnet launch, with parachain slots introduced soon after.
• 2022--2024: Governance evolution to OpenGov, asynchronous backing for scalability, and groundwork for Polkadot 2.0 and JAM.

Each phase reflected Parity's ability to adapt to an ever-changing Web3 landscape while staying true to its mission. In 2025, the focus is on preparing for the launch of Polkadot 2.0, featuring JAM and Elastic Scaling, alongside the rollout of PolkaVM smart contracts and the Polkadot App, marking a new era of usability, scalability, and real-world adoption.

The People and the Mission

While our technology has evolved, one thing has remained constant: our belief in building a better web, one that is open, decentralized, and user-owned.

Over the years, our team has grown into a diverse, global community of engineers, designers, researchers, and ecosystem advocates. Past and current team members alike continue to influence Web3 well beyond Parity, leading projects, advising startups, and advancing decentralised tech worldwide.

Looking Ahead

The next decade promises even greater challenges and greater opportunities. With Polkadot 2.0 and JAM on the horizon, we're continuing to push the boundaries of blockchain scalability, governance, and developer experience.

From our roots in ETHCore to our role as Polkadot's core developer, the story of Parity is one of resilience, innovation, and unwavering belief in the mission to build a better internet.