Filiment
Reno-based Filament, provider of blockchain solutions for Internet of Things (IoT) and the enterprise, announced Jan. 16 its next-generation blockchain technology designed to facilitate data transactions on industrial and enterprise machines and sensors. Filament’s new software and Blocklet Chip™ hardware solutions enable devices to securely interact with and transact against a blockchain.
“No less significant than what e-commerce did for the internet, blockchain will again revolutionize business models for entire industries,” said Allison Clift-Jennings, CEO, Filament. “As such, Filament is enabling e-commerce for devices. With exciting projects underway, forthcoming deployments will illustrate the real-world benefits of devices empowered to transact value using distributed ledger technology.” Filament’s distributed blockchain capabilities leverage open protocols so that devices are able to independently process and record transactions, ensuring digital trust. Its new trusted application software and Blocklet Chip, currently in beta, are designed to communicate and interact with multiple blockchain technologies natively. The software, implemented on existing hardware, will deliver a secure distributed ledger technology solution. The Blocklet Chip will allow industrial corporations and enterprises to seamlessly extract the value of recording and monetizing data assets, at the edge of the network, on the sensors themselves. Filament is currently working with several partners on significant implementations that will create a platform for future industry blockchain projects. As an example, Filament is supporting the open-source business blockchain framework, Hyperledger Sawtooth, hosted by The Linux Foundation, on its own native hardware. Hyperledger Sawtooth is a modular platform designed for building, deploying and running versatile and scalable distributed ledgers that provide a digital record that is maintained without central authority or implementation. Approximately 200 members are a part of the Hyperledger consortium, including many Fortune 500 corporations. Filament is an alumnus of TechStars’ R/GA Accelerator program and is backed by leading venture capital firms and technology corporations, including Verizon Ventures, Bullpen Capital, Intel Capital, JetBlue Technology Ventures, CME Ventures, Flex technology accelerator program Lab IX, Backstage Capital, Tappan Hill Ventures, Samsung NEXT, Resonant Venture Partners and Digital Currency Group. “We’re committed to unlocking the benefits of advanced technology for the airline industry and other sectors, and we believe Filament is at the forefront of the new connected IoT world,” said Bonny Simi, president, JetBlue Technology Ventures. “Our investment in Filament is important as blockchain and IoT centric solutions are likely to be game changers for all businesses with critical data.”