China's largest online retailer and brick and mortar announces first four startups for its program of incubation Al Catapult Blockchain. February 27th.

The Beijing-based program, which has seen candidates as far away as Australia and the United Kingdom, aims to use the company's extensive Chinese infrastructure to come up with new applications of Blockchain and artificial intelligence.

JD emphasizes his intention of " associating with innovative blockchain start-ups to create new businesses and create and test real-world applications of their technologies on the scale .

" JD is in a unique position to explore the potential of AI and blockchain in world trade ," Bowen Zhou, vice president of the US AI Platfo Business "19459003]

" We are excited to be working with some of the most innovative startups in the world to explore ways to evolve these advanced technologies for the future of distribution and distribution.

Startups on board include CanYa, the Australian market for Blockchain-powered services, as well as the British payment and identification platform Nuggets

. The opening of Al Catapult brands not only JD's latest foray into Blockchain following the partnerships of its various subsidiaries such as JD Finance, but also increasing competition for its ultimate application in the Chinese domestic market.

Chinese conglomerates Tencent and Baidu have also established a firm interaction with emerging technology.