Manufacturing Giant Rostec to Manage Data on Waves Blockchain Platform

Rostec, the Russian state-owned manufacturing conglomerate, is entering the blockchain fray.

The corporation, which holds stakes in 700 industrial entities in Russia, is working with the Waves platform to develop a blockchain system to manage data on its vast holdings, which include the carmakers Autovaz and Kamaz and the firearms manufacturer Kalashnikov.

Announced Thursday, Rostec has signed an agreement with Vostok, a startup founded by the Waves platform team.

The two partners will invest a combined $2 million to bootstrap the project, but Rostec's share was not disclosed.

The project will pave the way for the application of blockchain technology to Rostec's operations - specifically, for standardizing, collecting and analyzing data about the products manufactured under Rostec's supervision, which include both military and civilian goods.

Rostec has already been piloting smart city technology in several Russian cities designed to automatically regulate and adapt power consumption, traffic management, the work of street cameras with face recognition and other systems.

These systems will be migrated to blockchain rails, Vasiliy Melnikov, a press representative of Rostec, told CoinDesk.

"Working together with Rostec, which is the main provider and driver for projects in digital economy, will not only get us access to the wide range of corporate and government clients but also will give us a strong impulse for the further development," Waves' and Vostok's CEO Sasha Ivanov said in a statement.

Rostec was created in 2007 as a state-funded corporation responsible for accelerating technological development in Russia and is chaired by Sergey Chemezov, one of the closest public officials to president Vladimir Putin.

Rostec was assigned a key role in Digital Economy, the national development program designed by the Russian government to promote innovation in the country.