Google is creating a new unit dedicated to “blockchain and other next-gen distributed computing and data storage technologies,” according to a leaked email obtained by Bloomberg.

The blockchain unit will be led by a longtime Google veteran Shivakumar Venkataraman, Bloomberg reports and will sit in Google’s relatively new Labs division, which is also home to the firm’s research into virtual and augmented reality.

Google Goes Blockchain

Google, one of the biggest software companies in the world, is reportedly launching a new blockchain division as part of its Labs group. The blockchain division will be led by Shivakumar Venkataraman, an engineering vice president for Google. The division will focus on “blockchain and other next-gen distributed computing and data storage technologies,” according to an email obtained by Bloomberg.

While the company has been involved in certain blockchain projects, it has been very wary of being associated with any cryptocurrency in particular. The new blockchain division will be directed to the experimentation with these decentralized technologies under the umbrella of the Labs group. Labs is an experimental division that groups all the AR and VR efforts, and other potential projects in the tech area. The new Google Labs group also includes an in-house incubator for projects called Area 120.

Google Labs on the block

The new division is supposedly run by Shivakumar Venkataraman, a veteran of the company’s advertising side of things. The group will explore “blockchain and other next-gen distributed computing and data storage technologies”, according to the report. What that looks like is anyone’s guess right now, since Google’s not being official about any of it.

Google Labs was founded with the intent of investigating “high-potential, long-term projects”. The eruption of crypto and NFTs in the last few months certainly is an avenue worth exploring, at least in the eyes of Google executives.

The pursuit of blockchain technology is neither unfounded nor exclusive to Google. Technology firms are lining up to adopt blockchain for a plethora of tasks they see fit in their space. Google’s plans in this direction have been made public in a recent Bloomberg report that cites an internal email accessed by the publication. The email mentions a new division that will work on blockchain and related technology.

As per the email, a unit focused on “blockchain and other next-gen distributed computing and data storage technologies” has been set up by Google. For this, the company has also appointed Shivakumar Venkataraman, an engineering vice president for Google who has been with the company for the past 20 years. Venkataraman will now be the “founding leader” of the unit. 

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