Global implementation of blockchain technology in the food industry continues to grow as the world’s biggest food and beverage company, Nestlé, doesn’t put its blockchain efforts on hold. On April 6, Nestlé announced that the company is expanding its long-running IBM Food Trust blockchain technology platform to its coffee brand Zoégas. Getting all necessary coffee info from blockchain database With this new implementation, Zoégas coffee lovers will now be able to trace select coffee editions back to different origins in Brazil, Rwanda and Colombia, the company said. Additionally, consumers will be able to access some relevant coffee information including time …

In a letter to the shareholders, IBM has acknowledged that one of the main achievements of the new CEO is the expansion of its blockchain business. The document notes that its technology portfolio is “built for the future”, with blockchain being one of the technologies underpinning this belief. It denotes IBM as: “...a leader in hybrid cloud, data and AI, security, blockchain, enterprise services”. Discussing the recent appointment of the new CEO, it notes that Arvind Krishna: “Played a significant role in developing IBM key technologies: artificial intelligence, cloud, quantum computing & blockchain”. Blockchain is revenue multiplier Blockchain as a …

With each passing day, new data regarding the coronavirus pandemic is being brought to the public’s attention. From the number of cases in various regions to ever-changing safety procedures like wearing masks in public, COVID-19 data is clearly present, yet remains inconsistent. While a lack of accurate information may be frustrating on a personal level, ever-changing data is taking a toll on the health officials and researchers working effortlessly to help subdue the coronavirus crisis. To combat the issue, the San Francisco-based blockchain security company Hacera launched a data analytics platform in February to combat inaccurate COVID-19 data. Hacrera’s founder, …

According to a new report released by Premium Market Insights (PMI), global investment in blockchain technology in energy markets is set to reach $34.7 billion by 2025. Valued at just $156.5 million in 2016, the sector is forecast to grow at a rate of 82% a year. Although $35 billion seems high, it’s dwarfed by the net worth of $1.85 trillion for the energy market as a whole. Key players using blockchain and DLT in the field include Accenture, AWS, Bigchaindb, Deloitte, IBM, Infosys, Microsoft, Nodalblock, Oracle, SAP, Enosi, and Electron. Blockchain is used within energy markets for data management, …

The world’s largest technology companies have made concerted efforts to investigate and integrate blockchain technologies over the past few years. Partly driven by a massive boom in interest caused by Bitcoin’s stellar bull run in 2017, blockchain technology quickly became the new catchword in tech. A swathe of startups entered the fray during that period as entrepreneurs looked to cash in on the hype in the space. Bigger companies that weren’t looking into the benefits of the technology faced the risk of being left behind and began to carefully explore solutions to their own business mechanisms. Others had already begun …

Back in the 2000s, when I worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), I was the director of technology and innovation. Part of that role was not only helping the company and some of our clients with tech innovation projects, but it was looking out five years, 10 years, 15 years and thinking about what technology was emerging and what it might mean for our industry. And so, all along the way, I’ve had a real interest in identifying things that are interesting that maybe a lot of people weren’t paying attention to yet. One was the role of speech recognition. I was …

Standard Chartered has become the first bank to join TradeLens, the global blockchain shipping platform created by IBM and Danish logistics giant Maersk. The London-headquartered bank announced its decision on March 10, with global head of trade, Michael Spiegel, stating that digital ecosystems like TradeLens have the potential to promote the sustainability agenda of many stakeholders in international trade. Millions of supply chain events each week TradeLens is a global supply chain solution with a focus on containerized freight and logistics, which was first launched by IBM and Maersk back in April 2018. It operates by providing standards-based open APIs …

Walmart has become the latest major conglomerate to join open-source blockchain consortium Hyperledger. Walmart is among eight new members to join the platform. The new members were announced on March 3 at the Hyperledger Global Forum 2020 in Phoenix, Arizona. Sanjay Radhakrishnan, the vice president of Walmart Global Tech, expressed excitement in joining the platform, stating: “We've seen strong results through our various deployments of blockchain, and believe staying involved in open source communities will further transform the future of our business." Hyperledger was launched in 2016 and is hosted by the Linux Foundation. The platform aims to “advance cross-industry …

Russia’s richest man, Vladimir Potanin, is making steady headway with his blockchain-based trading platform for industrial assets and commodities. The billionaire’s venture, dubbed Atomyze, launched today, Feb. 25, in test mode. Potanin’s mining and smelting firm Nornickel will be the first to issue tokens on the platform, which is designed to speed up transactions, enable surplus supply trading and cut back on the red tape needed for interactions between customers and businesses. Atomyze is based on IBM’s Hyperledger Fabric blockchain technology, and Nornickel’s partners Trafigura, Traxys, and Umicore have been invited to participate in the platform’s testing phase. In an …

IBM Indonesia has revealed that the Indonesian Directorate General of Customs and Excise has commenced using the blockchain-based shipping platform, TradeLens. The news follows several months of platform implementations, with the Indonesia Customs and Excise Department announcing that it would join the TradeLens consortium late last year. The announcement has seen Indonesia’s customs department become the 11th government agency to join the TradeLens consortium - of which other members include the customs authorities of Thailand, Azerbaijan, and Canada, among others. Tan Wijaya, the president director of IMB Indonesia, expressed his expectation that the partnership with Indonesia’s customs depart will “benefit …

IBM Food Trust blockchain platform has onboarded one more French manufacturer seeking to enhance transparency of product provenance and supply chain. The Avril Group, a vegetable oil, eggs and protein manufacturer, and the owner of brands Matines and Lesieur, has begun using IBM Food Trust network to ensure traceability of its products, according to a Feb. 4 press release. Improving corporate social responsibility and customer experience By applying blockchain, the Avril Group expects to make improvements in its corporate social responsibility, especially when it comes to sectors such as quality livestock and the consideration of animal welfare. Matines is looking …

Tech giant IBM cemented its patent leadership in the United States, with over 9,000 received patents, including in artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain, in 2019. With the 9,626 patents secured, IBM became the company that received the most patents in the U.S.ever and the leader on the list for the 27th consecutive year, tech-focused media outlet Database Trends and Applications reported on Feb. 4. Of the 9,626 patents, IBM secured over 1,800 patents in AI, more than 2,500 patents in cloud technology and led in blockchain patents received. IBM’s patent dominance Back in July 2019, Cointelegraph reported that IBM had …