Venture capitalist and Wind Mobile founder Tony Lacavera thinks Canada has a bright future in blockchain, and he’s putting his money where his mouth is.
A year after supporting the launch of artificial intelligence (AI) startup incubator NextAI, Lacavera is throwing the weight of his newest company, Globalive Technology Partners (GTP), behind blockchain – still best known as the platform that powers Bitcoin – by announcing one new blockchain-driven partnership per week for the “foreseeable future,” he told ITBusiness.ca.
“I think (blockchain) is a winning technology for the same reason I think Microsoft and Android have dominated their respective markets… it’s open-source,” Lacavera told ITBusiness.ca. “It’s architecture that anyone can use to develop anything they want… and its security, validation, authentication, and value management transfer capabilities make it a unique platform in terms of creating new business models, new ecosystems, and ultimately new economies.”
Blockchain technology, long championed by influencers in the Canadian tech scene such as Don Tapscott, involves the creation of distributed databases that record, validate, and organize the information created as users perform online actions, such as making a purchase or posting an article online.
Because the information collected and retained via blockchain is distributed across multiple networks, platforms running on the technology are freed of their reliance on a central hub, and therefore enjoy more security than software run on other computing platforms.
“It eliminates the enterprise’s reliance on enterprise database software,” Lacavera said.
From AI to blockchain
If the name “Globalive Technology Partners” sounds familiar, it should: Lacavera’s existing VC firm, Globalive Partners, has a long history in Canada’s tech industry and was a key investor in NextAI.
Its technology-focused counterpart, according to a press release, will support the funding and development of enterprise performance-boosting software and hardware technology stacks.
GTP announced its first partnership, with VIDL (Vital Intelligence Data Live) News, a media platform dedicated to reducing false reporting, at CES on Tuesday.
“We’re co-developing an AI and blockchain technology stack that will leverage the chain to disintermediate and eliminate fake news,” Lacavera said, noting that Globalive’s partnership with VIDL was the first of some 25 partnerships that Globalive is “going to be announcing at the pace of around one a week.”
“The goal is to pick industry leaders and high-growth firms, and co-develop technology to move traditional business models onto blockchain,” he said.
Lacavera could not disclose additional partners or specific investment numbers at present, but said they will be revealed in the near future.