Explore a groundbreaking paper presented at Eurocrypt 2017 that challenges the sub-exponential barrier in obfuscation. Delve into the first candidate construction and its applications in indistinguishability obfuscation (IO). Examine the sub-exponential barrier and its implications. Discover key applications, including functional encryption and the FE2 IO transformation. Gain insights into the intuition behind the research and the key techniques employed. Learn about non-interactive key exchange and its relevance to the topic. Conclude with a comprehensive understanding of this significant advancement in cryptography and its potential impact on the field.