IBM Launches Two Eight-Week Blockchain Accelerator Program

A press release by IBM indicates that two blockchain accelerator programs have been announced by the software giant and Columbia University to help start-ups in the crypto sector innovate at scale. Both programs are part of the Columbia-IBM Center for Blockchain and Data Transparency, a joint innovation center set up this summer by the US Ivy League and the Tech Giant School.

Per the news report, each program will assist ten new companies, providing them a network of business tutors, technical backup, admission to Columbia’s student ability and “research community,” design help, and IBM cloud technology assets.

The expressed objective is to assist network creators interpret thoughts into “feasible and versatile” blockchain firms, which in turn fortify “significant business blockchain adoption and drive business efficiencies across industries.” The eight-week Columbia Blockchain Launch Accelerator, which is planned to take place in New York City, was planned for associated “idea-stage” firms that are related with either Columbia or another NYC-based school.

The second eight-week program, known as the IBM Blockchain Accelerator, targets companies around the world in the later stages and aims to assist members construct a trade network and client base for their blockchain application. It’ll be somewhat in-person in New York and San Francisco and mostly “in combination with virtual programming” to grant members more free time to commit themselves to their endeavors in business advancement.

Each member starting up in both programs is reported to have access to innovation and services worth around $400,000. Neither program gets equity or charges a commitment fee. A fellow school from New York College (NYU) claimed to be the “first” United States school to offer the greatest blockchain innovation to the NYU Stern Business School. Numerous other best universities as of now offer an assortment of cryptographic and blockchain courses around the world.

IBM, which has its own cloud blockchain platform backed by Hyperledger, has made major advances into the blockchain space of the company. As of August 31, 2018, the company is listed second in the world in terms of the number of patents in association with the blockchain, second to the e-commerce mammoth Alibaba of China.