Google may be preparing to adopt blockchain technology. According to reports, the company has established a new unit to investigate the viability of blockchain technology across verticals. According to what is known so far, Google intends to use this move to advance distributed computing and data storage technologies.
The pursuit of blockchain technology is neither irrational nor limited to Google. Technology companies are lining up to use blockchain for a variety of tasks that they see fit in their industry. Google’s plans in this area were revealed in a recent Bloomberg report, which cited an internal email obtained by the publication. The email mentions a new division focused on blockchain and related technology.
As per the email, a unit focused on “blockchain and other next-gen distributed computing and data storage technologies” has been set up by Google. For this, the company has also appointed Shivakumar Venkataraman, an engineering vice president for Google who has been with the company for the past 20 years. Venkataraman will now be the “founding leader” of the unit.
Surprisingly, Google has renamed this division Google Labs, a name that existed until about a decade ago. Google Labs was previously an incubator where Google conducted public demonstrations and testing of its new projects. The new unit, which will bear the same name, will have a different focus.
While the previous Google Labs was open to the public, this one will be an internal group focused on high-potential, long-term projects. According to an internal email obtained by Bloomberg, it currently houses Google’s projects centred on virtual and augmented reality.