Auto Makers Form Blockchain Consortium To Explore Tech’s Applications

Announcements, Innovation, News | May 2, 2018 By:

Big Auto is getting into the blockchain. General Motors, Ford, Renault and BMW are among the boldface names backing the new Mobility Open Blockchain Initiative (MOBI), a new consortium to explore the technology’s applicability in the industry.

More than 30 members are among the founders, including supporters outside auto manufacturing, including Bosch, Blockchain at Berkeley, Hyperledger, Fetch.ai, IBM and IOTA. Its mission is to make transportation “safer, more affordable, and more widely accessible using blockchain technology.”

“Blockchain and related trust enhancing technologies are poised to redefine the automotive industry and how consumers purchase, insure and use vehicles,” said a statement from Chris Ballinger, MOBI’s chairman/CEO. “By bringing together automakers, suppliers, startups, and government agencies, we can accelerate adoption for the benefit of businesses, consumers and communities.”

Ballinger was formerly CFO and director of mobility services at the Toyota Research Institute, an early explorer of blockchain’s potential to transform transportation.

MOBI’s board includes Joseph Lubin, founder of ConsenSys and Brian Behlendorf, executive director of Hyperledger.