R3, the blockchain technology company that leads a consortium of over 200 firms in research and development of distributed ledger usage in the financial system, has firmed yet another investment deal, worth $5 million.
Tokyo-based IT services provider TIS, has announced a strategic investment and business collaboration deal with R3 in order to speed up the global development and adoption of blockchain applications by leveraging the strengths & maturity of the Corda platform and taking advantage of TIS strong group presence in the region.
TIS’ customer base operate within the financial, banking, payment, and manufacturing industries, all of which with great potential for technology disruption through blockchain.
The Corda platform offers access to a vibrant network of interoperable blockchain applications for finance and commerce. The partnership allows TIS members access to the work R3 does across the whole of financial services in blockchain technology.
David E. Rutter, Chief Executive Officer of R3, commented:
“This investment is testament to the potential that major IT companies such as TIS see in Corda. We are experiencing growing support for Corda not just from the financial services community, but from a diverse mix of technology firms serving an expanding range of industries. These firms are building innovative apps on the platform that enable them to unlock new value for themselves and transform business processes for the sectors they serve.”
The deal, which forms part of the third tranche of R3’s fundraiser, had TIS invest a sum of $5 million to gain access to the blockchain company’s technology. While the R3 consortium grows to over 200 companies, a number of large players within the banking industry have left the partnership. These include JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Banco Santander, and Morgan Stanley.
Earlier in June, France-based Natixis joined R3’s blockchain-based trade finance network Marco Polo which aims to provide a trade and supply chain finance platform built on distributed ledger technology.
In May, HSBC and ING Bank were able to successfully execute a live trade finance transaction for international food and agriculture conglomerate Cargill using R3’s Corda scalable blockchain platform.
Banco Santander, one of the departing banks from the consortium, has focused on another blockchain-based company, Ripple. The bank is actively using Ripple’s distributed ledger in mobile international payments for personal customers since Q1 2018.
