Overview
TEX Labs is a small software engineering studio that designs and runs the behind-the-scenes systems products depend on: servers, cloud hosting, and subscription web apps (often called SaaS). The studio says its senior team takes on platform, blockchain, and AI projects and owns each system from first design through to running it live1. The main public product from TEX Labs is Midnight Explorer, a public website for looking up activity on the Midnight blockchain2.
The studio publishes its code on GitHub as Tech Expansion and is based in Vietnam3. On Midnight, TEX Labs builds and hosts the explorer plus a data service for developers, and the official Midnight documentation names it as the explorer's maintainer2. The company also describes itself as an official partner of the Midnight Network1. On Cardano, its engineers publish open-source developer tools and have led projects funded through Project Catalyst, Cardano's community grant program.
Key Features
- Midnight blockchain explorer. Midnight Explorer lets anyone search blocks, transactions, wallet addresses, and smart contracts (self-running programs stored on a blockchain), with charts and live network stats2.
- Blockchain data for app builders. The Midnight Explorer API, a connection point that lets apps pull data automatically, offers self-serve access keys, usage tracking, and a free plan for light use4.
- Explorer code anyone can reuse. The explorer's code is published under the Apache 2.0 open-source license in a GitHub repository that is now archived5, and the Midnight docs explain how to run a private copy on your own server2.
- Do-it-yourself Cardano token creation. A TEX-built web app lets a user connect a wallet and create their own Cardano tokens or NFTs, using the Mesh developer toolkit6.
- Cardano node management on Kubernetes. A TEX Labs toolkit sets up and manages Cardano nodes, the computers that keep the network running, on Kubernetes, a system for running software across many servers7.
What to Expect
The TEX Labs website is a single page. It walks through five areas of work (platform engineering, cloud infrastructure, SaaS, blockchain and DeFi, and AI), shows featured projects, and introduces each team member with their role1. The main way to start a conversation is a message button that opens an email to the team.
For organizations looking for an engineering partner, the site frames TEX Labs as a builder that owns systems end to end rather than a software outsourcing company. It says it favors simple, stable designs that are ready for real traffic1.
Developers on Midnight can use the explorer and its API. The explorer includes a switcher for moving between Midnight's test networks and its main network2. The API platform handles sign-up, key creation, and usage tracking from one dashboard4.
Cardano builders can browse the Tech Expansion GitHub organization for the token-minting app, the node toolkit, and a proof-of-concept Telegram trading bot3. Two Cardano projects led by TEX Labs engineer Hiep Tran also appear on Project Catalyst, both marked complete: the Tamper-proof Certificate System, a website for issuing and checking digital certificates8, and CareBlock, a project for handling health insurance records and claims in Vietnam9. Anyone curious about other block explorers can compare Midnight Explorer with tools built for other chains.
