JD.com, China’s biggest retailer, announced (Oct. 30) their new partnership with two tech institutes in an effort to open a blockchain research lab. The collaborators are Ying Wu College of Computing at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) and the Institute of Software at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (SCAS).
Beyond directly relevant application-based solutions, the lab will research consensus protocols, privacy standards, and security for improved blockchain infrastructure. Some might say JD is following in the footsteps of Alibaba CEO, Jack Ma who has helped his ecommerce company create close to 100 new blockchain patents.
JD isn’t limiting its enthusiasm about blockchain to this new research facility, just last month the retail giant started the Smart City Research Institute within the company’s own headquarters based in Nanjing. The Institute brought together AI, big data, and blockchain with the hopes of innovating new tools to lower the costs of doing business and boost efficiency
The new JD Blockchain Open Platform, marketed as a Blockchain-as-a-Service (Baas) hopes to provide a platform for everything the company aims to achieve by deploying new web 3.0 technology. It is built for large-scale, enterprise-grade use for easier plug-and-play decentralized application development without the initial effort of having to create an entire blockchain.
JD.com shows no signs of stopping now. They are researching, building, and launching not only the developer test kitchens they need to create the best technology, but they are also enlisting high profile institutions that house cutting-edge tech talent in their mission to revolutionize how the East does business.
