Semiconductor giant Intel has launched its new FinTech lab in Israel. The new venture will focus on various technologies like blockchains, IoT, cloud computing and biometrics.
Intel’s new innovation lab is being formed in collaboration with The Floor, an Israeli FinTech hub situated at the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, which recently raised $2 million from Pando Group, a $250 million Chinese-Israeli VC firm.
According to report by The Jerusalem Post, Sharon Puterman-Zafrir, business development manager at Intel, explained that the company’s partnership with The Floor will revolve around bringing the benefits of emerging technologies to Israel’s financial sector, “Through this collaboration, Intel will be able to lead, alongside The Floor, the development of this field in Israel and to widen the influence of technology on the financial field, from the user to the cloud,” she said.
The Floor, which was established in 2015, has already forged ties with many financial firms that are involved in experimentation with blockchain technology; banks like Spanish giant Banco Santander, which recently unveiled its blockchain-powered international payments app.
Intel, having already produced two chips for 21’s bitcoin computer, will be showcasing their own prototypes to partners at The Floor, as well as Israel’s budding FinTech startup scene.
Intel’s strategic move in Israel is not without merit. The recent Deloitte report, Israel: A Hotspot for Blockchain Innovation, compared the booming FinTech industry in the country to that of Silicon Valley, in California. That report also highlighted the rapid growth of the digital currency industry in Israel, and also postulates that the region is well on its way to becoming a FinTech hotspot.
And that is exactly what Gil Devora, tech industry entrepreneur and co-founder of The Floor, is hoping will take place now that Intel has a presence in the region, “Intel brings a powerful multi-disciplinary approach that could help Israel become a global capital in the field of fintech.” said Devora.
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