British startup chosen as partner to shape the future of European blockchain

iov42, an emerging British startup, which builds blockchain-inspired identification tools, has been chosen over corporate giants including EY, Vodafone and Deloitte to secure a spot as one of only seven tenderers selected to design and develop the next-gen of the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI). The flagship project from the European Commission hopes to leverage blockchain technology to improve standards of cross-border services for public administrations across the EU.

Founded in 2016, iov42 builds simple building blocks to enable users to create easy-to-use applications that can achieve high levels of regulatory compliance and security, while also allowing networks to scale efficiently and work with each other.

It does this by using ledger technology to digitally codify processes. Unlike conventional blockchain models, iov42 creates a chain of transactional proofs for every identity and asset combination that is made. This helps to improve the security and traceability of transactions for governments, public bodies and enterprises. 

In a first for the continent, the European Blockchain Partnership is upgrading existing infrastructure to create  blockchain-based services for public administrations - benefiting citizens, society and the economy. This will be done through the delivery of key use cases, which will be digital product passports for the circular economy and digital IP rights.

When completed, the EBSI will allow public administrations to protect against fraud, help businesses to alleviate administrative costs, and enable citizens to take full control of their personal data, with iov42’s innovative technology being used in full to drive forward these ambitions. Upon completion, EBSI aspires to be facilitating up to 15bn transactions per minute.

The mission to elevate the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure has been split into three phases, with the initial three month phase focusing on how the infrastructure can best take shape. iov42 will be the only UK-based startup to be involved, and will take a leading role within the series of research and development projects included in phase one.

Dominic von Trotha Taylor, CEO of iov42 commented: “We are delighted to have been selected by the European Commission to work on EBSI, which is made even more special for us as the only UK-based startup to have been chosen. It is hugely validating to have an organisation such as the Commission endorsing our platform’s capabilities, capabilities (and approach) which we feel represents a refreshing departure from traditional DLT and which was designed with governments, enterprises and regulation front and centre.”

The next-gen EBSI will be built as a ‘public permissioned’ blockchain, and will be managed by the European Commission and member states. The infrastructure will be built with European values of privacy, data sovereignty and green credentials in mind, whilst also tackling global issues such as climate change and supply chain corruption. As the infrastructure is built from concept to completion over the next five years, the European Blockchain Partnership aims to scale-up the investment fund to a fully developed investment platform with funding of €1-2bn.

As the biggest win yet for the startup, iov42’s involvement in the development of blockchain infrastructure across Europe will allow for further internal company expansion.

Startup Details

Startup Details

TOTAL FUNDING AMOUNT
CB RANK (COMPANY) 145,781

iov42

iov42 help organisations that rely entirely on their users’ trust, but whose processes or products aren’t as robust as they could be. Their product enforces the organisation’s rules & requirements in a way that provides verification, so that their users can have peace of mind when dealing with each other. It’s done through an identity-centric platform inspired by Blockchain, but with pioneering technology that makes it simpler, faster, and more secure.

iov42's ultimate aim is to help create a digital society built from interconnected groups that can fully trust one another.

  • Headquarters Regions
    London, UK
  • Founded Date
    Jun 10, 2016
  • Founders
    Anton Schmidbauer, Robert Zapfel
  • Operating Status
    Active
  • Number of Employees
    11-50