MOBI expands with addition of new members and key working groups

Los Angeles, California, December 5, 2018​ – The Mobility Open Blockchain Initiative (MOBI) announces the addition of 24 new community members and three new working groups. They will be contributing to an already growing network of major automakers and tech companies and will help accelerate the development and adoption of blockchain-enabled vehicle data and standards for mobility services. With the onboarding of new members, MOBI is expanding the breadth of expertise ranging from supply chain to insurance companies, non-profit organizations, and academic institutions.

“We are delighted and deeply gratified by the support the industry, entrepreneurs, academics, NGOs, and government entities have provided to MOBI since our launch in May”, says MOBI’s Founder and CEO Chris Ballinger. “Our rapid growth has allowed us to expand our research and further our mission to make mobility safer, greener and more available.”

MOBI community members to be announced today include: AMO Labs, Cerebri AI, Circulor, Cognizant, Cyber Physical Chain, DLT Labs, DMX (Dealer Market Exchange), Evernym, IN2CAR, KAR Auction Services, Leep Network, MintBit, Netsol Technologies, NewCities Foundation, Noblis, On the Road Lending, Pravici, R3 LLC, RouteOne, Spherity, Swiss Re, USC Viterbi Center for Cyber Physical Systems and the Internet of Things, Velocia, VINchain, XYO Network.

MOBI has employed the use of multiple working groups to foster collaboration and teamwork within the MOBI community and assist in the development of secure and transparent end-to-end solutions for future multi-modality e-mobility solutions. In addition to the two active working groups on ​Vehicle Identity​ and U​ sage-Based Insurance,​ three new working groups will be established to address a broader spectrum of potential use cases for blockchain and distributed ledger technology in the mobility sector:

The ​Supply Chain w​ orking group will be exploring challenges in the automotive supply around inbound parts, outbound vehicles, and others that can be solved with blockchain. Current supply chains are spread across hundreds of stages over multiple locations and often across countries and continents. Crucial data is stored on paper, in emails, or in systems that do not communicate with each other. This lack of transparency results in customers not knowing the origin or value of the goods being purchased. Blockchain can address this and track the progress and provenance of products and parts moving across supply chains.

MOBI has formed an ​Autonomous Vehicle (AV) Data Markets​ working group to assess use cases surrounding the transactions in AV, including but not limited to shared mobility, automotive IoT, and insurance claim processing and the safety of data generated by such transactions. The autonomous vehicle market size is projected to grow to 6 billion USD by 2025. As this number grows, the volume of data will increase significantly, justifying cause for crucial insight into the value of blockchain in this field.

The ​Electric Vehicle Grid Integration​ working group will evaluate the potential value proposition of blockchain and logistics for use cases such as peer-to-peer smart contracts, tokenized carbon credits, vehicle-to-grid (V2G) energy storage, and others. Smart contracts, for example, have the potential to reduce range anxiety for drivers, increase the attractiveness of EVs, and pave the way for changes to the electricity grid. Tokenized carbon credits can be used to identify and allocate credits to customers and cut high costs involved with charging stations for EVs.

“Verifiable vehicle journeys are critical to building a trusted, intelligent, and shared mobility ecosystem,” said Jean Belanger, CEO and co-founder of Cerebri AI. “AI and blockchain are the two biggest disruptors in technology today. We look forward to working with MOBI members across the mobility value chain to bring these technologies together as we create interoperable, scalable solutions that reimagine the business models of the future.”

“We are very delighted to be part of MOBI. The integration of the automotive industry and the blockchain has always been an area that CPChain attaches great importance to. CPChain will be more involved in Vehicle Identity and User Based Insurance workshops. In addition, there is also huge potential for CPChain’s PDash data marketplace to coordinate with the new Autonomous Vehicle (AV) Data Markets workshop.” — Dr. Long Chengnian, CEO of CPChain.

Loudon Owen, Chair and CEO of DLT LabsTM says, “DLT Labs has a deep track record in innovation, one of the world’s largest pools of highly experienced blockchain experts, and longstanding relationships with members of the MOBI community, so we are honoured to join this assembly of leaders who wish to revolutionize transportation and mobility on the blockchain.” Owen added, “With the advent of autonomous vehicles, AI and other disruptive innovations, we are fielding inbound calls every day to help enterprise customers manage data, create efficiencies, and protect their stakeholders.”

“As a MOBI community member, KAR is committed to taking an active role in accelerating the future of the automotive industry and working to build a more transparent and trustworthy ecosystem,” said Don Gottwald, KAR chief operating officer and chief strategy officer. “Through MOBI’s open-source approach to blockchain software tools and standards, and our participation in these newly formed working groups, we hope to collaborate on the development of standardized blockchain-enabled vehicle data and mobility services applications.”

“The transportation and mobility industry is becoming more complex, more fast-moving and more interconnected. Against that backdrop, holding on to isolated, centralised value creation does not only not make sense, but it is also actually counter-productive to the future of the industry. MOBI is looking to change that, and I’m proud to be contributing to that paradigm shift.” — Arwen Smit, Blockchain Strategist at MintBit

The NewCities Foundation is looking forward to working with MOBI and its strong global network to collaborate on advancing ways in which Blockchain and distributed ledger transactions can enhance urban services and provide better economic development and wellbeing for all urbanites. NewCities works with the most forward thinking cities around the world, where the adoption of Blockchain technologies promises more efficient operations, maximizing environmental efforts and creating new citizen services. I’m particularly looking forward to working with MOBI’s Autonomous Vehicle working group to encourage and enable cities to adopt and scale Blockchain technologies throughout their transportation and mobility operations. — John Rossant, Founder and Chairman of NewCities

“It’s RouteOne’s continued dedication to innovation that is fueling our collaboration with MOBI,” said Justin Oesterle, RouteOne’s Chief Executive Officer. “As a participating member, we are eager to contribute to, and benefit from, MOBI’s innovation process as we actively engage in creating the automotive retailing of the future. We believe that MOBI will benefit our owners, our customers, and the industry.”

“Our world is driving towards the ‘Internet of Everything’ with fully autonomous machines and entirely new business models. With MOBI, we are excited to collaborate in advancing the future of mobility. Decentralized Digital Twins will very soon be an absolute necessity for both the fourth industrial revolution and our mobility systems.” — Dr. Carsten Stöcker, CEO & Founder Spherity; Founder Interlinked Protocol

“Velocia is very proud to be part of an initiative that has provided an ecosystem where thought leaders in the mobility and blockchain spaces can come together to collaborate and help solve real world issues leveraging emerging technologies.” — David Winterstein, CEO of Velocia

“We’re proud to be an active founding member company of MOBI, which has emerged as a formidable advocacy organization and unifying voice in the industry,” noted Markus Levin, co-founder of XYO Network. “From our perspective as the relative location-validation experts, we look forward to expanding awareness and actual integration of blockchain-enabled vehicle data and mobility service standards, across the industry.”