JD.com Establishes Institute for Building ‘Smart Cities’ Utilizing AI and Blockchain

JD Finance, a division of Chinese e-commerce company JD.com, has announced the opening of the Smart City Research Institute, with the headquarters based in Nanjing, China.

JD.com focuses on implementation of new technologies in e-commerce, finance and logistics. With the new research center, the company aims to help develop “smart city” construction suing blockchain technologies, big data, and artificial intelligence (AI).

A report from the company on its priorities states that:

“Advanced Intelligent solutions in the areas of urban environment, transportation, planning, energy consumption, commerce, security, healthcare, credit cities and e-government.”

JD.com is Experienced in Blockchain Technology

This is not the first time that JD.com is taking up a project in blockchain technology. The company has applied the technology in a number of businesses, ranging from supply chain to logistics to issuance of blockchain asset-backed securities.

Earlier is August, the company announced its BaaS platform (Blockchain-as-aService) called JD Blockchain Open Platform. The idea was to enable businesses host, build or implement blockchain solutions, without going through the hassles of developing the technology from the start.

Also in August, Ping an Insurance, a Chinese conglomerate that focuses in financial services, banking and insurance, and one of the largest insurance company groups in the world, released a White Paper on Smart Cities. The document detailed plans that would help the government create a complete new model of ‘city as a service’ governance.”