By
Godfrey Benjamin
April 12th, 2024
The programs designed in the partnership will offer entrepreneurs and blockchain network founders access to expertise and resources they need to establish blockchain networks.
Blockchain is going on penetrating into various spheres of our life. Different instututions, companies, agencies are willingly adopting the technology in order to keep up with the times. And education sector is no different.
On November, 19, International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), an American multinational technology company, and Columbia University, one of the world’s most important centers of research, announced partnership and offered two new accelerator programs with a view ‘to build and scale the next generation of blockchain innovation’.
According to the press release, the new programs, being a part of intercreated Columbia-IBM Center for Blockchain and Data Transparency, will offer entrepreneurs and blockchain network founders globally access to the expertise and resources they need to establish blockchain networks.
Each program will support ten startups working with blockchain. The announcements reads:
“As part of each program, participants will explore best practices for building a blockchain network with technical, academic and business mentors from IBM and Columbia. They will have access to agile design workshops from IBM, an experienced network of business and technical support, connections to the Columbia research community and student talent pools, business value design assistance and access to IBM Cloud technology through the program.”
David Post, managing director of the IBM Blockchain Accelerator hopes that the partnership will help IBM supplement startups with the required technologies and social networks to grow their businesses. He said:
“The possibilities presented by blockchain technology are seemingly endless, and we are seeing strong dedication by technical talent to build game-changing applications. What is also needed to truly bring about this sea change is the right technology and expertise which is why IBM is working with Columbia to help give these early-and mid-stage founders a way to build enterprise-grade networks that can move blockchain innovation forward.”
The IBM Blockchain Accelerator, designed for later-stage growth companies, will take place in New York and San Francisco, in combination with virtual programming. The Columbia Blockchain Launch Accelerator is designed for pre-seed, idea-stage companies with a Columbia or other recognized New York City-based University affiliation.
Satish Rao, Executive Director of Columbia Blockchain Launch Accelerator, commented:
“Columbia University has successfully launched several technology accelerators in New York City, but this our first in partnership with a corporation that is a clear industry leader in the field. Early- and late-stage teams will undoubtedly benefit from IBM’s technology resources, expertise and established network coupled with Columbia’s ground-breaking research and talent in blockchain and data transparency, all while benefiting from rapidly growing NYC blockchain communities.”
Each company will receive services valued at roughly $400,000. There are no fees for participating in either of these programs. Nominations for the IBM Blockchain Accelerator are now open, with applications for launch set to open in January 2019.
IBM to Foster Mass Adoption of Blockchain
IBM is the leading provider of open-source blockchain solutions built for enterprises. The company is renowned as the second company in the world in terms of number of blockchain-related patents filed. IBM has numerous blockchain-projects and welcomes famous companies from different fields to join them.
In October, IBM launched its food-tracking blockchain project IBM food Trust in partnership with European supermarket giant Carrefour. The company also partnered with Visa, provider of payment services. As a result of the partnership, Visa’s distributed ledger platform B2B Connect integrated open-source blockchain code from the Hyperledger Fabric to provide clients with a groundbreaking payment network.