Intel to Develop Blockchain Projects at New Innovation Lab in Israel

Tech giant Intel has opened a development lab in Tel Aviv focused on financial technologies like the blockchain.

The company is working with The Floor, an Israeli FinTech organization, according to The Jerusalem Post. The Floor, headquartered at the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, raised $2m earlier this year from Chinese VC firm Pando Group.

Other technologies that the lab will focus on include connected devices for the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing and biometric applications.

"Through this collaboration, Intel will be able to lead, alongside The Floor, the development of this field in Israel and to widen the influence of technology on the financial field, from the user to the cloud," Sharon Puterman-Zafrir, manager of IoT for Intel’s Israeli division, said in a statement, according to the Post.

The company is no stranger to internal projects focused on applications of the blockchain, work that has been put on display through its industry partnerships.

In May, CoinDesk reported that Intel was exclusively developing mining chips for use by bitcoin startup 21 Inc.

Earlier this year, Intel unveiled an internal blockchain test through its work with the open-source Hyperledger project that simulated a fantasy sports marketplace where players exchanged virtual team shares. In April, Intel presented its formal contribution to the Hyperledger project, a distributed ledger platform it dubbed “Sawtooth Lake”.

Intel did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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