Thomson Reuters Seeks Blockchain Startups for New Incubator Program

Media and information giant Thomson Reuters has announced a startup incubator program that seeks early-stage entrepreneurs in different technology fields, including distributed ledger and cryptocurrency.

The program, revealed July 5, will grant selected applicants access to Thomson Reuters' office space, mentorship, data services, and client and partner resources, and will run for six months in the Zurich region. In return, Thomson Reuters will utilize the startups' technologies to create more business opportunities for itself.

Specifically, the information company seeks emerging technologies that intercept with finance, legal, regulation and news sectors – areas relevant to the business of Thomson Reuters. The selection criteria will focus on startups' "business idea, leadership team and competitive differentiation in the market."

Applications that relate to cryptocurrency and distributed ledgers will be reviewed by Sam Chadwick, director of Thomson Reuters' financial and risk management division. Notably, he is also managing the recently reported BlockOne IQ initiative, a beta release open to smart contract authors aimed to enable financial information transactions without middlemen.

Incubator opening image via Thomson Reuters