EMURGO, a global blockchain solutions provider & a founding entity of the Cardano protocol, has entered into a strategic partnership agreement with Israel-based Blackbird Ventures to establish Brandmark – a new joint venture and blockchain solution aimed at leveraging EMURGO’s tailored blockchain solutions suite and Blackbird’s expansive network to provide real world, blockchain solutions for large scale, multinational organizations in the current age of Industry 4.0. Brandmark will consist of EMURGO Traceability Solution and other enterprise blockchain solutions moving forward that will be customized to meet the needs of large scale clients, especially in supply chain.
For the launch, Brandmark has reached agreements with Ahava – a multinational cosmetics company; Angel Bakery USA – a premium pita bread manufacturer and major supplier for Whole Foods and the US restaurant industry to Angel Bakeries – the largest commercial bakery in Israel; and HydroShop – the largest provider of cannabis growing equipment in Israel and self-owned medical cannabis brands – to onboard as initial clients and provide Brandmark’s blockchain solution for full traceability and transparency.
Brandmark is also in cooperation with Israel’s Ministry of Science and Technology; Ministry of Agriculture; and CultivAid – an Israeli non-profit organization working with the government of Ethiopia and academic institutions to ensure food security, economic development, and technology transfer initiatives – to explore applications of Brandmark’s solutions.
Bringing a successful mix of experiences in entrepreneurship, management, and mergers & acquisitions, the partners of Blackbird Ventures have accumulated a wealth of deal-making strategies with some of the biggest publicly and privately held companies in the world.
The current global pandemic and ongoing digital transformation of traditional industries has forced organizations to accelerate trust and transparency in global supply chains. Brandmark will work with larger corporates, government bodies, NGOs, and trusted certification providers, to help these stakeholders achieve their objectives.
Technologically as a solution, Brandmark will be scalable for organizations and compatible with the future development of the Cardano blockchain.
“Brandmark is a holistic approach to providing value to many stakeholders – from the Cardano community to large organizations, from farmers to consumers, and others – by partnering with Blackbird Ventures which has a proven track record of success and network-building. This joint venture further strengthens EMURGO as a key solutions provider with a product-market fit,” said Ken Kodama, EMURGO CEO.
“Blackbird Ventures partners have been our long term partner over the past nine years, creating revenue together while bringing in technology and innovation together with DHL, for our customers,” said Yonathan Ivgi, CMO, DHL Express Israel.
“Brandmark provides certainty in uncertain times and helps regain severed trust between communities, consumers, and manufacturers in multiple sectors, all the while lowering costs of quality control and certifications, across the entire supply chain. Blackbird Ventures has been in the front line of bringing new technology and innovation to multinational organizations in the past decade and Brandmark is the pinnacle of our ongoing efforts,” said Daniel Rosenfeld, CEO, Blackbird Ventures.
Under the joint venture, EMURGO CEO Ken Kodama will be Founder and Chairman. EMURGO CTO Nicolás Arqueros will be CEO. Blackbird Ventures CEO Daniel Rosenfeld will be Board Member, and current Blackbird Ventures Partner Gilad Waksman will be CSO, of the new joint venture.