Auto Maker Skoda, Lumos Labs team up to find 100 blockchains

A division of the Indian subsidiary of automaker Skoda partnered with Microsoft and innovation management firm Lumos Labs to find ways to improve its business using blockchain technology.

According to a recent announcement, Skoda Auto Volkswagen India’s DigiLab division will launch the “Microsoft Century Program.” The firms involved will “evangelize, curate and unearth 100 best enterprise-ready block-chain solutions for industry-specific use cases.” Skoda India chief information officer Pranav Kulkarni commented:

“As the Automotive Industry continues to evolve, the onset of blockchain technology will be a defining transformation in the development and manufacturing of the next generation of cars.”

Through the Century Program, he added, SKODA AUTO DigiLab India “will foster this ecosystem of innovation among startups and identify implementable solutions in the space of digital tools and mobility platforms.”

Skoda’s DigiLab became the first original equipment manufacturer for the discrete manufacturing track of the Microsoft Century Program, and plans to “identify the problem statements for the startups to work on innovative block-chain based solutions.” Startups will be selected from the Media and Entertainment, Oil and Natural Gas, Trade, Finance, Healthcare, Public Sector, Discrete Manufacturing and Telecom industries.

Lumos Labs CEO Raghu Mohan said that the project will see startups, enterprises and developers work to discover implementable blockchain solutions for 18 months. Furthermore, he made it clear that he plans to look for more partners for the firm:

“We look forward to joining hands with more partners who are passionate about driving this innovation wave in India.”

Automakers’ interest in blockchain

Automakers, being huge companies, show interest in the most disparate technologies and industries. Because of that, it should not come as a surprise that this is not the first instance of an automaker being involved with blockchain technology.

As Modern Consensus reported in April, German automaking behemoth BMW announced an international blockchain project that aims to track the raw material and components that the company uses. Ford participated in a similar project last year, and in March, Toyota unveiled its Blockchain Lab, looking to integrate the technology throughout the organization.