Google is working on blockchain-related technology that will support its cloud business, Bloomberg quoted people familiar with the situation as saying.
The company is reportedly developing its own distributed digital ledger that third parties can use to post and verify transactions.
“Like many new technologies, we have individuals in various teams exploring potential uses of blockchain but it’s way too early for us to speculate about any possible uses or plans,” a Google spokesman said.
The Alphabet Inc. (FWB: ABEC) unit is also planning to release a white-label version of its blockchain technology that other companies can run on their own servers.
Bloomberg’s source offers no timescale for the application of this new tech, but the article does assert that Google will use it to differentiate their service from competitors.
Among tech giants, IBM (FWB: IBM) and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) have so far led the charge in offering blockchain-related tools and letting companies tinker with digital ledgers using their cloud services.
In 2016, Google started a trial for developers testing blockchain services on its cloud. The company is now exploring much more expansive ways to deploy the technology, the people said.