A few attentive members have already unearthed that several branches of Matrix AI Network exist. These are The Matrix Digital Economic Think Tank, Matrix Finance and MATRIX Bayes Research Fund. These have not been mentioned in English articles so far, so I thought it was time to do some digging. Below are my research findings using Baidu, which was challenging to say the least. Would love to have some Chinese people read over and confirm some stuff as well! This article covers my main findings during my time spent on Baidu.

Source: Reuters Institute — University of Oxford

Are the entities connected to Matrix AI Network?

The first question we need to answer ourselves is whether these are indeed connected to Matrix AI Network or that they are totally different enterprises.

We turn our eyes towards this article. One of the main things which caught my eye was the following:

“The Matrix Digital Economic Think Tank was initiated by Matrix Finance based on the strategic cooperation agreement between MATRIX Bayes Research Fund (MATRIX and Tsinghua University Education Foundation) and MATRIX and the Belt and Road Research Center.”

The source further explains that this think tank combines experts in blockchain, AI, finance, digital asset management and investment in order to focus on the transformation of traditional industry in China. Goal is to empower the ‘real’ economy with new technologies and promoting technological advancement. Leading to what they call a ‘transformation of the digital economy’.

Based on this source we can conclude that the entities are indeed connected and we have a hunch to what the purpose of the Matrix Digital Economic Think Tank is. What is interesting to see is that this news article by Tencent starts with a summation of blockchain-related news, starting with China opening blockchain laboratories, then moving on to South Korea’s stance on crypto, the developments surrounding the Turkish Lira, something about SpaceX and Elon Musk and then the price of Bitcoin. At the bottom they then mention Matrix.

Why is this interesting?

It seems to me that Matrix is being mentioned in one breath with several industry leaders. Why would Tencent mention Matrix in one breath with Bitcoin, Elon Musk, SpaceX, Bitcoin and blockchain industry leader South Korea? You tell me, it seems to me China is pushing Matrix forward hard. We also know that China is rapidly nationalizing tech companies and the government already seems like they’re pulling some strings.

Tencent is the world’s largest gaming, social media company, and one of the world’s most valuable technology companies. It has the 5th highest global brand value. WeChat is also a product of Tencent.

Summarized, this makes it very interesting that Tencent mentions Matrix in this context.

I found very little on what each enterprise actually does, such as Matrix Finance or the Matrix Bayes Research Fund. If you know more please provide this info by sending me a message!

What does Baidu say about the Matrix cryptocurrency?

One of the first things that pop up using “Matrix 新一代区块链”(Chinese translation) is a news article by news.china.com. It’s a 3-page long article detailing the entire Matrix project and praising Deng and Li for their achievements so far. It’s also an interview with Steve Deng!

I would advise clicking on the link and letting google translate it to English for details. Most stuff is already known information though. However, it’s interesting to see a government-controlled entity talk about decentralization and openness in relation to the Matrix AI Network project — especially considering crypto is forbidden in China so far. Do note that the article does not mention the MAN token, instead it focuses on the blockchain technology of MATRIX themselves. Nonetheless we can assume that China is publicly supporting the MATRIX project — which is of course major news for the investors in MATRIX.

Matrix and Turkey — a national collaboration in the making?

According to this article, “Freedom” — the largest circulating newspaper in Turkey — apparently also wrote about MATRIX, giving a detailed report on the project, outlining China’s internet development and focusing on MATRIX’s technological leadership in being China’s blockchain(!)

Among the stuff they mention is that China is becoming the world’s internet center and MATRIX has the strength to become a leading domestic technology project within that space. Turkey is apparently also exploring new economic models using blockchain technology and they have eyed MATRIX as a potential project that can aid in that cause. Having the largest national newspaper in Turkey covering MATRIX is a sign of recognition and confidence in the MATRIX project.

Original source according to this Chinese source (sorry for that) is: http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/yazarlar/sahver-kaya/dijital-ipek-yolu-ve-turkiye-3-40945491

Which Chinese VC’s invested in MATRIX?

A slightly older article already, but Qilu Evening News Agency (one of the most circulated newspapers in the world) reported on MATRIX as well. More specifically we gain more insight on the Venture Capitalists that have invested in MATRIX in the past and/or attended a conference held by MATRIX in the Beijing Peking University Hotel. According to this article more than 20 investment institutions had their eyes on MATRIX, including: Shanxi Big Data Industry Fund, Haifu Fund, Saibo Le Green, Zhangzhou Capital, Jingbei Finance and Gecheng.

The article then outlines the MATRIX project as we know it.

Summarized

Based on the investigations i have done we can assume several things:

Matrix is being supported by the Chinese government, considering several state-owned enterprises publicized and praised the project. Turkey is exploring new economic models in correspondence with OBOR — by looking at what MATRIX can offer. MATRIX is a larger foundation than we initially thought — with several branches still unexplored. MATRIX is being promoted hard to play a central role within China’s new digital economy — with several national newspapers mentioning the project.

Am I missing something? A call for collaborative action!

Searching for newsworthy stuff via Baidu is quite difficult for someone like me who can’t speak Chinese. Some access is also denied to me as some websites require authentication via WeChat — which is not possible for a gwai lo like myself. So to make searches for everyone easier, here are the Chinese names for several branches of MATRIX.

Matrix AI Network = Matrix 新一代区块链

The Matrix Digital Economic Think Tank = 矩阵 数字 经济 智库 由 矩)

Matrix Finance = 矩阵财经出品

MATRIX Bayes Research Fund = MATRIX 贝叶斯 研究 基金)

Other (chinese) articles I found:

Are you Chinese and can you speak English? Please compile and translate mentions in Chinese media for us, we’d love to hear about it!