Hitachi has established a fintech research lab in Silicon Valley, where it will conduct R&D on new innovations in blockchain technology and financial services more generally.
The Japanese conglomerate established a Global Center for Social Innovation - North America (CSI-NA) in April 2015 in Santa Clara, California, to pursue collaborative creation with strategic partners in the Americas. In January 2016, it set up a new dedicated research facility in Silicon Valley, gathering researchers specialising in big data analytics, information and communication systems, and user experience design.
The new fintech innovation lab will draw on Hitachi's local talent pool and resources, with the aim of "accelerating research & development of blockchain technology, collaborative creation with customers, and development of solutions to support business innovation in financial institutions".
Hitcahi is looking to position itself at the forefront of the fintech revolution sweeping financial services. It joined the Linux Foundation's open source Hyperledger consortium as a board member in February. In December, it rolled out the Hitachi Mobile Cash Card in Japan, enabling consumers to use their smartphones to pay for transactions. The firm has also been active in the field of secure identity management, developing a biometric finger scanner for logging on to mobile banking that has been taken up by Barclays among others.