Backed by South Korea’s tech giant Samsung, Blockco announced the investment in a blog post on Aug. 22.
South Korean blockchain startup Blockco has secured 9 billion Korean won ($7.5 million) in a recent Series B+ funding round participated by major local banks.
The funding round involved South Korea’s oldest bank Shinhan Bank and South Korea’s largest foreign exchange bank, Korea Exchange Bank, also known as KEB Hana Bank.
Banks continue interest in blockchain
Additionally, the new investment was also supported by healthcare-focused venture capital firm LB investment and the venture arm of Seoul-based entertainment startup Dadam Game.
Blockco backed by Samsung and Amazon
Founded in 2014, Blockco reportedly raised 1.5 billion won ($1.2 million) from Samsung Ventures in July 2016. As blockchain tech company in South Korea, Blockco established a blockchain-as-a-service platform called Coinstack back in 2015 and launched enterprise blockchain protocol Aergo mainnet in 2018.
As reported, Blockco participated in the development of permissioned blockchain system NexLedger in collaboration with Samsung Group and Amazon Web Services. Released in 2017, Nexledger is a permissioned blockchain system providing an integrated solutions for cost-efficient methods of managing digital financial transactions and data exchange.
Meanwhile, recently, Shinhan Bank was reported on the development of a blockchain-based stock lending platform in partnership with financial services company Directional. KEB Hana Bank and Samsung Electronics are members of the South Korean consortium that plans to launch a blockchain based mobile identification in the country in 2020.
Samsung-Backed Blockchain Firm Launches in UAE After Securing $16M
Blocko, a South Korean blockchain provider, launched in the United Arab Emirates after securing $16 million in funding.
Building full-scale enterprise blockchain solutions
On Oct. 2, Middle Eastern business publication Arabian Business reported that Blocko has partnered with SEED Group, a member of the Private Office of Sheikh Saeed bin Ahmed Al Maktoum in the UAE.
Before launching in the UAE, Blocko raised a total of $16 million through two separate funding rounds. South Korea’s oldest bank, Shinhan Bank, as well as KEB Hana Bank, LB Investment and Dadam Investment are among those who participated in the funding round.
The blockchain company will now bring its Aergo platform to the Middle East, looking to replicate the achieved successes in Europe and Asia. Blocko CEO Phil Zamani said:
“We launched Aergo in response to the growing need for data sharing between industries and companies in areas such as identity verification, document management and the Internet of Things – the same areas in which the Middle East in particular is seeking practical solutions.”
Blocko previously completed 38 full-scale enterprise blockchain solutions in South Korea for companies like Samsung, Hyundai Motors and Cisco and hopes to continue building through the SEED partnership. SEED Group CEO Hisham Al Gurg said:
“The UAE and the wider Middle East region are constantly seeking advanced blockchain solutions for government and digital services. And so, we recognised the partnership with Blocko and Aergo as a solution to satisfy the increasing need for companies working at the highest level of scale and security.”
UAE Ministry of Health uses blockchain
Cointelegraph previously reported that the United Arab Emirates’ Ministry of Health and Prevention launched a blockchain system to record and share healthcare data. The blockchain-based platform will “save and share the assessment information of health professionals, including doctors, pharmacists and technicians with local licensing health authorities.”
