Skoda Auto DigiLab India, a division of Skoda Auto Volkswagen India has partnered Lumos Labs, an innovation management company to announce the launch of the Microsoft Century Program, an enterprise block-chain start-up program to evangelise, curate and unearth 100 best enterprise-ready block-chain solutions for industry-specific use cases.

The Czech carmaker has partnered as the first OEM for the discrete manufacturing track of the Microsoft Century Program. Skoda Auto Digilab India aims to use its development expertise and knowledge in digitisation to identify the problem statements for the start-ups to work on innovative block-chain based solutions.

The Microsoft Century Program spans 18 months and will provide the selected start-ups with opportunities to regularly engage with industry experts and leverage the partner networks of Skoda Auto DigiLab India for business growth. The program intends to identify and solve real time business challenges and block-chain use cases faced across seven industry verticals including media and entertainment, oil and natural gas, trade finance, healthcare, public sector, discrete manufacturing and telecom sector using block-chain technologies.

Pranav Kulkarni, CIO, Skoda Auto Volkswagen India commented, “As the automotive industry continues to evolve, the onset of block-chain technology will be a defining transformation in the development and manufacturing of the next-generation of cars. Through the Century Program, Skoda Auto DigiLab India will foster this ecosystem of innovation among startups and identify implementable solutions in the space of digital tools and mobility platforms.”

Raghu Mohan, CEO, Lumos Labs said, “The next 18 months will be exciting times for the Indian block-chain ecosystem- startups, developers and enterprises alike; as they set course in this journey of identifying implementable, enterprise grade block-chain solutions. As a company driven by the potential of emerging technologies, sustainable growth and the entrepreneurial spirit, we, at Lumos Labs are excited for the possibilities. Signing in Tech Mahindra as our first system integrator partner and Skoda Auto DigiLab India as our first OEM partner for the Discrete Manufacturing track is the first of our many small wins in collaborating with like-minded, innovation driven enterprises and we look forward to joining hands with more partners who are passionate about driving this innovation wave in India. ”