NuCypher (aka Threshold Network)
Y Combinator 2016 · Inactive B2B threshold.network
Network for decentralized threshold cryptography and end-to-end…
Y Combinator's description, shown to identify the company. We rate the name, not the business.
Formerly ZeroDB, NuCypher, Threshold
- Evocativity EVOC : green
- Cypher and threshold clearly evoke cryptographic security
- Brevity BREV : red
- 27 letters, 9 syllables. Up to seven letters is green, eight at two syllables too; up to ten yellow, eleven or more red.
- Greppability GREP : green
- Found inside 0 other dictionary words.
- Googlability GOOG : green
- The complete annotated phrase is distinctive
- Pronounceability PRON : yellow
- The coined opening and alias complicate reading
- Spellability SPEL : red
- The NuCypher spelling and long parenthetical are hard to reproduce
- Verbability VERB : red
- The long annotated phrase does not form a natural network-use verb
- Nominology
- 40
- All seven dimensions and .com ownership, weighted as set out on Methodology.
- Fluency
- 30
- Brevity and pronounceability only: the subset with published outcome evidence behind it.
- PG grade
- 3 / 4
- Graham's own four-step ladder.
- Exact .com
- Not owned
- Shape
- phrase
- Length
- 32 chars, 9 syllables
- Distinctiveness
- suggestive
Watkins SCRATCH flags
- Annoying
- Curse-of-knowledge
- Spelling-challenged
Rubric version 2026.10.20-1, judged by gpt-6.1-sol (agent).
This scores the name only. See Methodology.
These judged dimensions came from an AI agent working through the judging queue in a chat, on the same rubric the scoring pipeline sends. The agent passed the calibration exam before its work was accepted, and each batch it judged hid two names with known answers as a check. The model is named as the agent reported it.