Ex-Google Engineer Launches Blockchain Based System for Banks

Blockchain Technology – New Operating System for Banks

A company which tends to use blockchain technology in building new operating system for banks has been launched by a former Google engineer Paul Taylor, whose speech recognition software has been utilised in over a billion Android smartphones. A Cambridge University academic, Taylor having expertise in artificial intelligence, machine learning and speech synthesis had begun working on the system known as Vault OS, two years back, in a cellar in Shoreditch district, London which is known for being a tech start-up hub.

Thought Machine and VaultOS is said to be the brainchild of Taylor who had sold his speech recognition start-up Phonetic Arts to Google in 2010. He had spent around three years running it text-to-speech operation. Will Montgomery, another ex-Googler and former AdSense engineer is the director of applications at Thought Machine.
The thoughts of the financial industry have been captured by blockchain, wherein advocates state that it has the capability of shaking up how the markets tend to operate. The technology that supports the digital currency bitcoin is said to develop a shared database wherein participants could trace each transaction that is made. The ledger is said to be tamper-proof and transparent which means that the transaction can be administered the requirement of third party confirmation.

Secured System of Storing Transaction

Taylor had informed Reuters that most of the banks are inclined to use systems which were written in the 80s and 90s and were just not ready for the security-conscious internet app age at all. What the blockchain intends to do is to provide a much secured system of storing transactions. Moreover the system also disproves the requirements of costly in-house data centres since it have a tendency to use cloud-based methods wherein banks could utilise it on a `pay-as-you-go’ source which means that there is no particular point of failure. Taylor also added that major high street banks were spending about a billion pounds a year on computer technology. He mentioned that most of it was being utilised for propping up the present legacy systems instead on any innovative technology. Blockchain is said to be a promising technology and is estimated still to be some five to ten years away from extensive adoption but its reputation had be affected to some extent due to its association with bitcoin that had seen various company failures inclusive of Tokyo-based exchange Mt. Gox filing for bankruptcy, leaving investors around $500 million in debt.

Building Modern Computer System for Banks

Taylor had informed that the start-up had been operative with around ten banks, where at least one would be starting a trial utilising the new system in August. He is hoping that the system would function within a year. This project is said to be one of the first bottom-up attempts in building a modern computer system for the banks that can be utilised out of the box by any of the banks and then tailored as needed.

The platform attracts the latest technology like cloud infrastructure and blockchain. VaultOS is somewhat like Amazon Web Services of Google Drive, except for the `core banking’ system, the technology is said topermit the banks to hold deposits as well as accounts. The director of creative and design at Thought Machine, Mark Warrick had informed Business Insider that gettingthe technology updated seemed to be the `hardest problem in banking’s owing to its critical function.