Yes we’re working on adopting MLS which would give us really good private groups and options. nostr:npub1zuuajd7u3sx8xu92yav9jwxpr839cs0kc3q6t56vd5u9q033xmhsk6c2uc gave a good talk about it https://youtu.be/PWKd9aoZ-Cg 

The biggest funding for Nostr development is through grants from OpenSats.org but there are also investor backed companies too. 

Also the work on ditto.pub is interesting when it comes to private / community focused Nostr.