Hyperledger Project Adds Daimler AG as Latest Member

The Hyperledger Project is an open-source collaborative cross-industry effort created to advance blockchain technologies and has added one of the most well-known automobile makers to its ranks. Daimler AG has announced on February 21 that they will be working with Hyperledger as a premier member.

Daimler AG, the manufacturer of Mercedes Benz vehicles, is currently investing in blockchain technology with the primary goal of focusing on the future developments to optimize its business. Hyperledger is excited to be partnering with one of the most successful producers and manufacturer of premium vehicles. Brian Behlendorf, Hyperledger Executive Director, stated:

“Having one the world’s leading industrial and transport companies join Hyperledger is very exciting. The diversity of our membership continues to grow, demonstrating that blockchain technology has the potential to impact many industries and transform the way business processes are handled. I’m looking forward to the contributions and skills Daimler’s team brings to the project.”  

Hyperledger’s objective is to generate collective distributed ledger technology that empowers firms to build and test industry-specific applications, platforms and hardware systems that will be the foundation to the running of each individual firm’s transactions. Since the inception of the project, the number of members has grown exponentially totaling to more than 115 in several industries including finance, healthcare, the Internet of Things, credit card services, and aeronautics, alongside many others.  

Blockchain’s potential is recognized at its early stages by the CIO of Daimler AG, Jan Brecht, who stated:

“We see Blockchain as a promising technology, not fully mature yet, but continuously growing. Now is the right time to get into it, Build up knowledge and form a network of like-minded people to share experiences. By joining Hyperledger, we are confident to do the right step towards this direction.”

This is what the Head of Treasury at Daimler AG, Kurt Schäfer had to say, “Being a part of Hyperledger allows us to collaborate with a global network of experts in order to build the cross-industry blockchain standard, for customers, supply chain, digital services, financial services and financing tools. We look forward to joining this community.”

In addition to Daimler joining Hyperledger, they have previously displayed their interest in blockchain technology, and bitcoin in particular, by acquiring digital payments and Bitcoin transactions processor PayCash in January 2017.

Daimler’s motivation for purchasing PayCash was part of their mobility and digitization strategy. As reported by Automative World, the acquisition is anticipated to launch mobile applications for the transaction of Daimler products and services branded as “Mercedes Pay.”

The Chairman of the Board of Daimler Financial Services, Klaus Entenmenn stated in their press release, “Daimler’s new payment system underscores our ambition, as a leading provider of digital mobility services, to make the products and services we offer even more appealing.”  

The collaboration with Hyperledger could help the automobile producer develop blockchain wallets for cars so people can pay for ride-sharing, tolls, and parking spaces automatically. Innogy senior innnovation managers envision a future where “fleets of autonomous vehicles” will run on electricity and will be shared by the general public. Cars will be hailed, accessed and paid for using smartphones and by joining the Hyperledger Project, Daimler is preparing a strategy to adapt to the future of private transportation.