Dfinity, the Swiss foundation behind the Internet Computer Protocol (ICP) blockchain, has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with the Cambodia Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation at Token2049. The parties have agreed to pursue research, training and entrepreneurial ecosystem support for smart city infrastructure.
The definition of a smart city is somewhat nebulous but emphasizes the use of advanced information and communications technology. Dfinity already has a presence in Cambodia as a partner of a United Nations Development Program pilot project for its digital Universal Trusted Credentials system.
Decentralizing computing on a national scale
The LOI is part of Dfinity’s continuing efforts to support the sharing of sovereign cloud technology with governments and international organizations. Dfinity founder and chief scientist Dominic Williams said:
“We are excited and proud to progress our partnership with the forward-thinking Government of Cambodia. The Internet Computer, and ICP technology generally, will play a key role supporting Cambodia’s digital transformation […] and this will assist Cambodia in its mission to develop secure smart cities.”
ICP hosts decentralized serverless computing. ICP users thus do not need cloud hosting services such as Amazon Web Services. With software hosted on-chain, the network claims to be immune to cyber-attacks.
In March, Dfinity announced that it had demonstrated artificial intelligence running on ICP as a smart contract for the first time.
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Cambodia eye a leading role in tech
Try Sophal, a director at Cambodia’s Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology & Innovation (MISTI), said, “By integrating blockchain technology into our national infrastructure projects, we aim to develop […] solutions that will not only accelerate our smart city initiatives but also strengthen the broader digital economy.”
Source: Dfinity
“MISTI’s mission is to position Cambodia as a regional leader in emerging technologies,” Sophal added.
Cambodia’s smart city ambitions date back at least to 2019, when Singaporean startup blockchain Limestone Network launched a smart neighborhood project in the capital Phnom Penh. The project was scheduled for completion in 2022, but it is unclear if that happened.
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