Russian manufacturing conglomerate Rostec seeks to manage data using blockchain

Rostec, a Russian state-owned manufacturing conglomerate, has signed an agreement with Vostok, a blockchain startup founded by the Waves platform team, CoinDesk reported.

Under the agreement, the companies will work together to develop a data management system based on blockchain technology. They will invest a combined $2 million in the project, which aims to bring blockchain technology to Rostec's operations, including standardizing, collecting and analyzing data about the manufactured products, which include both military and civilian goods.

The joint team will release a project roadmap over the next month.

The project will also focus on developing solutions for “smart cities”. This includes facilitating data sharing between federal and municipal government bodies and citizens via a blockchain platform.

"Working together with Rostec, which is the main provider and driver for projects in digital economy, will not only get us access to the wide range of corporate and government clients but also will give us a strong impulse for the further development," Waves' and Vostok's CEO Sasha Ivanov said.

Rostec, which already has been piloting smart city technology in a number of Russian cities, will migrate these systems to blockchain-based ones, a Rostec spokesperson told CoinDesk. These include systems designed to “automatically regulate and adapt power consumption, traffic management, the work of street cameras with face recognition and other systems.”