Jiaxing, China, July 26, 2024 — The Aeternity Foundation has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Ningbo Wutong Talent Development Center to collaborate on innovation projects supporting the æternity blockchain. The MOU is a key element of the nonprofit Aeternity Foundation’s initiative to position æternity as the benchmark blockchain for business applications.
The agreement follows a series of bilateral meetings in Beijing and the Shanghai area, including discussions with the Shijingshan Innovation Park, Zhejiang Yangtze River Delta High-Level Talent Innovation Park, Jiaxing Science and Technology City, and Pinghu Economic and Technological Development Zone. The Aeternity Foundation will continue working with leaders from these science and innovation parks to establish partnerships with Chinese businesses interested in blockchain technology solutions. The foundation has also engaged with representatives of China’s Shijingshan Future Industry Education Center to develop a framework for supporting large-scale use cases on æternity, such as supply chain management and life sciences.
“Cooperating with the Ningbo Wutong Talent Development Center and other partners in China is an important first step in a new campaign that demonstrates æternity is the most performant Layer 1 for enterprise-level applications globally,” said Nikola Stojanow, of the Aeternity Foundation. “æternity is a ‘grown-up blockchain’ with over seven years of continuous development behind us. Collaborating with Chinese companies that have succeeded beyond the startup stage will be a win-win for innovators on both sides.”
Stojanow, a founding team member, returned to the Aeternity Foundation at the end of 2023. Since his return, teams supported by the nonprofit’s grants have completed projects aimed at increasing the blockchain’s functionality and interoperability, such as the ærc EVM blockchain bridge, Ceres (the first hard fork protocol upgrade since 2021), and a revamped Superhero DEX DeFi protocol.
Stojanow’s next focus is to support businesses looking to integrate blockchain technology into existing products. He cites æternity’s sophisticated development tools, network stability, and an advanced protocol maintained by Klarna founding CTO Erik Stenman as reasons companies in China and globally will benefit from choosing æeternity.
“The support for innovation in China is astounding,” said Program Director Laurent Martin, the research grant recipient representing the Aeternity Foundation in China. “China’s innovation parks offer 360-degree support for new startups and SMEs, helping with every aspect of business creation. The Aeternity Foundation will collaborate on specific programs aimed at developing blockchain technologies with their portfolio companies across all industries.”
Founded in 2016, æternity became Europe’s first blockchain unicorn in 2018, launching its mainnet in November of that year. æternity has distinguished itself by introducing key technologies such as generalized accounts (account abstraction), state channels, and native zero-knowledge proof tools long before other industry players.
About the Aeternity Foundation
The Aeternity Foundation is a nonprofit organization supporting the ongoing development of the æternity Layer 1 blockchain protocol through open-source collaboration. The foundation aims to contribute to the evolution and reliability of blockchain technology. It provides milestone-based funding in the form of grants to support initiatives focused on decentralizing, growing, and securing the æternity network.
For more information, visit aeternity.foundation and aeternity.com.
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About the Ningbo Wutong Talent Development Center
The Wutong Talent Development Center is an incubation institution providing full lifecycle services to enterprises in the technology innovation field. It aims to support the economic benefits of enterprise development through social impact and sustainable talent development.
For more information, visit wutongtechglobal.com.
Media contact: Donna Semdani, Head of Marketing, Aeternity Foundation
Email: [email protected]