Chinese internet giant JD.com has teamed up with leading research institutions in both China and the United States to develop a new blockchain technology initiative.
JD.com has announced that it is collaborating with the Ying Wu College of Computing at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (JIT) and the Institute of Software at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (ISCAS) to create a new blockchain research facility.
Dr. Jian Pei, president of JD Big Data and Smart Supply China, Dr Qiang Tang, assistant professor at the Ying Wu College of Computing and Dr Zhenfeng Zhang, vice chief engineer at ISCAS, will head the initiative.
“JD.com is a pioneer in the utilization of blockchain technology, and we are dedicated to exploring its potential by investing in the growth of the blockchain ecosystem through key strategic and research partnerships,” said Dr Jian Pei.
“Our partnership with NJIT and ISCAS will leverage our respective strengths and resources to drive the continued development of this cutting-edge technology and its wider deployment across many industries.”
The blockchain lab will focus on new applications of the technology, as well as means for overcoming related efficiency, stability and scalability challenges.
“Through this partnership we will bring about blockchain innovation and promote industrial applications of blockchain technology,” said Zhong Hua, deputy director of ISCAS.
The move comes just months after JD.com unveiled its Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform in August – the JD Blockchain Open Platform, whose goal is to facilitate the development of blockchain applications by enterprise clients.
