IBM launches Asia-focused tech accelerator in Singapore
IBM has launched an accelerator in Singapore that will help Asia Pacific start-ups commercialize blockchain technology and the cognitive computing system known as Watson.
According to a statement, the Watson Centre will function as an incubator for organizations of all sizes that offers access to IBM technology experts and business partners. The facility has been established at the same site as IBM's Asia Pacific headquarters and is expected to host almost 5,000 of the company's regional professionals in cognitive computing.
Services will include customized workshops for software companies, start-ups, developers and systems integrators. It aims to leverage growing demand for cognitive computing in Asia Pacific through a variety of avenues, including partnerships with Thailand's Bumrungrad International Hospital and Korea's SK Holdings C&C, as well as the establishment of regional developer ecosystems.
"Watson and blockchain are two technologies that will rapidly change the way we live and work, and our clients in Asia Pacific are eager to lead the way in envisioning and creating that future," said Randy Walker, chairman and CEO at IBM Asia Pacific. "Here they can leverage the latest in customer experience design, use cognitive technology to draw insight from vast quantities of data, and draw on IBM's huge investments in research and development."
Watson computing drives efficiencies by continuously learning from previous interactions, gaining in value and knowledge over time. It is being developed through cloud-delivered cognitive computing technologies that represent the commercialization of artificial intelligence across a variety of industries, including healthcare and internet-of-things.
Blockchain, meanwhile, has proliferated in the virtual currency sector as a means of securing digital financial distributions via a decentralized database. This process validates transfers by authenticating a chain of timestamped units of data that increases in complexity with each transaction.
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