Israeli blockchain startup Orbs establishes Seoul headquarters, partners with Kakao’s subsidiary Ground X

Israeli blockchain startup Orbs has announced its strategic expansion into South Korea and partnership with internet giant Kakao’s blockchain subsidiary Ground X.

Orbs has opened its Seoul headquarters, with five full-time employees hired to drive further business development in the region. It seeks to tap into the country’s significant blockchain talent to spearhead technical innovation.

“It’s no coincidence that Orbs decided to open its first office outside of Israel. With leading conglomerates such as Kakao entering the space, South Korea is currently leading the pack when it comes to innovation and development in the blockchain space and has the potential to become the ‘blockchain nation’,” Orbs Co-founder Uriel Peled said.

The partnership with Ground X will focus on conducting research and development on shared blockchain components, such as a crypto library, mutual security audits, and autonomous swaps, an advancement that would facilitate decentralized interoperability of cryptocurrency assets. They will also compose joint research papers and conduct peer review on code vital to the core development initiatives of both blockchain infrastructures.

Orbs and Ground X will also support one another's business development, which will be complemented by the opening of Orbs’ Seoul headquarters this month.

“Partnering with Ground X on innovative blockchain development will facilitate the continued evolution of both of our platforms, and enable those at the forefront of dApp development to experience unrivalled security, liquidity and scalability. In addition, by opening our office in Seoul, we are cementing our presence in a region that we view as fundamental to blockchain’s future,” Peled added.

In May, Kakao confirmed its plans to set up Ground X – a blockchain business development unit focused on developing a reliable and scalable platform to meet the constantly-evolving needs of this sector. It is in the process of recruiting partners to establish a collaborative environment in which blockchain solutions can be tested and appraised, in order to make them as user-friendly as possible before extending their use to wider industry.

Ground X CEO Jason Han said the partnership with Orbs will help the company to further establish and solidify its presence in Israel. He said that this is a part of Ground X’s plan to form the Blockchain Tech Alliance.

“Ground X is planning to collaborate with other outstanding local and global blockchain tech companies and institutions to develop a high-end blockchain platform and to create a sound blockchain ecosystem. We will not only be covering technologies of blockchain platforms, but also building a collaborative network covering diverse areas including security and DApp technologies,” he added.