EMURGO, a pioneering blockchain technology company and one of the founding entities behind the Cardano blockchain, and Ibex, the corporate innovation arm of Antler, one of the world’s most active early-stage investors, have partnered in a bid to drive Web3 innovation and fintech growth, including in Africa.
Ibex is a new initiative by Antler, designed as a sector-specific innovation and investment platform. It aims to assist corporations in transforming their approach to technological development by fostering collaborations with startups.
Through Ibex, corporates can better navigate the complexities of growth, ensuring that their partnerships with startups lead to measurable and impactful outcomes. The collaboration is set to drive innovation at the intersection of fintech and Web3 technologies, leveraging EMURGO’s deep expertise and Antler’s expansive global network to support founders and scale startups.
This long-term collaboration will identify, invest in, and drive the growth of global founders and startup projects solving critical real-world problems leveraging fintech and Web3, and tackle key industry challenges in fostering the sustainable and consistent development of commercial Web3 solutions.
It also aims to build a robust financial technology stack that is interoperable with Cardano and other adopted Web3 technologies, and support EMURGO to drive breakthrough innovation across its growth stages.
“Partnering with Antler and the Ibex platform marks a significant step towards solving pressing issues by fostering the development and user adoption of interoperable solutions leveraging fintech and Web3 technologies. Combining our industry insights, extensive global reach, and networks, we can equip founders with the resources needed to overcome challenges and accelerate technological progress,” said EMURGO founder and CEO Ken Kodama.
Deepak Jayaraman, partner at Antler and global head of Ibex, said Ibex was a strategic innovation and investment platform within the Antler ecosystem, designed to drive breakthrough innovation for industry partners.
“Ibex will help industry partners fortify internal innovation engines to extract tangible value from engagements with startups and the global entrepreneurial ecosystem. We will collaborate closely with global leaders, aligning long-term innovation goals, connecting industry giants with startups and innovators, and tackling challenges or seizing opportunities that arise, leveraging Antler’s extensive global network of over 1,300 startups and growing to drive impactful outcomes,” he said.
