Linux Foundation-backed blockchain consortium Hyperledger has added five new members to its portfolio.

Following the recent additions of China’s search engine giant Baidu and business networking company Tradeshift, Hyperledger has now opened its doors to general members Robert Bosch GmbH, Indian IT firm Wipro, Beijing Xiaomi Mobile Software, cognitive solutions and cloud platform Cognition Foundry, and Dubai-based holding company Majid Al Futtaim.

Aiming to build a range of applications and platforms based on open-source distributed ledger frameworks, the new additions mean Hyperledger now has more than 170 member organizations from across various industries including finance, banking, Internet of Things (IoT) and more.

According to Donya-Florence Amer, executive vice president at Bosch, her firm recognizes blockchain as a “key” technology in its push to become more IoT-focused.

She said:

“Hyperledger as the blockchain derivate focusing on industrial usage is key for us. Bosch has its strength in the full stack of IoT devices, cloud services for data storage and processing, experience in delivering critical software, and industrial processes with strong partnerships. We are very much looking forward to working with and to contributing to this alliance.”

Brian Behlendorf, executive director of Hyperledger, said the flow of members joining the group indicates Hyperledger is heading in the right direction, and highlights the importance of blockchain in business solutions.

In its announcement, Hyperledger also indicated it is currently developing eight business blockchain technologies including Fabric, Iroha and Sawtooth, among others.

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