American blockchain startup Data Gumbo Corp. has raised $6 million from major energy companies, including the venture wing of Saudi Arabian national petroleum and natural gas company Saudi Aramco. The news was published by energy-focused news outlet Worldoil on May 8.
In a Series A equity funding round, Data Gumbo ostensibly raised $6 million from companies such as Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures, the venture subsidiary of Saudi Aramco, and Equinor Technology Ventures, the venture subsidiary of Equinor, a Norwegian multinational energy operator. The new investment purportedly brings Data Gumbo’s total funding up to $9.3 million.
The funds will be used for developing Data Gumbo’s commercial blockchain network and adding to the company’s technical, sales, and marketing teams. The investors purportedly expect Data Gumbo’s blockchain-as-a-service platform to improve oil and gas supply chains by eliminating disputes and enabling automated payments, as well decreasing reconciliation times between supply chain counterparts.
Daniel Carter, Senior Investment Director at Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures, said that “distributed ledger technologies have the potential to bring win-win efficiencies between industrial companies and their suppliers.”
Recently, the Russian prime minister welcomed an initiative to use blockchain in agreements over gas supplies by the country’s state-owned gas giant Gazprom. The blockchain-based platform reportedly intends to allow data sharing between all the participants of a certain contract, as well as to improve the security of data.
In March, seven global oil and gas firms, including American industry giants ExxonMobil and Chevron, partnered to form the Oil & Gas Blockchain Consortium. The initiative intends to conduct proofs of concept in order to explore and apply the benefits of blockchain, as well as contribute to global adoption of the tech.