IOTA Foundation, Nova partner to launch seed fund to support blockchain startups

The IOTA Foundation has partnered with Liverpool-based cofoundery Nova to support startups working with distributed ledger technology (DLT).

Incorporated and registered in Germany, the IOTA Foundation aims to support the development and standardization of new DLTs, including the IOTA Tangle.

The partnership programme with Nova will provide funding and mentorship to aspiring tech entrepreneurs to develop innovative new business models using IOTA technology. It aims to help these entrepreneurs prevent the main reasons that lead to startup failure and ensure that the full potential of DLT can be realized.

“The Tangle network overcomes many of the limitations and inefficiencies of blockchain technology, and as such, has huge potential to transform machine to machine transactions that are at the core of IoT. Our partnership with Nova is about enabling that innovation, by helping initial ideas come to fruition in the form of viable, scalable and sustainable business models,” David Sønstebø, co-founder and co-chair at IOTA, said.

The IOTA Foundation said that it will launch a seed fund to support early-stage startups harnessing the Tangle. In addition to the investment fund, entrepreneurs will also have access to an IOTA test lab to build and test their solutions, Nova’s mentoring programme, and its expert tech startup team consisting of 20+ startup consultants and a full range of digital disciplines.

“Nova will be investing in ideas that prove user problem-fit. This investment will be matched by the IOTA grant programme if DLT is identified as the right solution. This increased runway will help the startups create viable businesses develop within the IOTA ecosystem,” the release said.

Late last month, Denmark’s state-owned energy company Energinet signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the IOTA Foundation to trial the IOTA Tangle technology in the internet-of-things (IoT) and energy market domains. More recently, Dutch tech firm ElaadNL announced that it is using IOTA technology for a proof-of-concept (PoC) to demonstrate “how smart grids can autonomously balance energy consumption.”