Deutsche Telekom has announced a collaboration with UK-based AI startup Fetch.ai to promote cutting-edge AI and blockchain solutions. As the first major corporate partner of the Fetch.ai Foundation, Deutsche Telekom joins forces with Bosch and Fetch.ai in supporting an open AI and blockchain platform aimed at widespread adoption. Its subsidiary, Deutsche Telekom MMS, will also serve as a validator on the decentralised Fetch.ai network, helping secure transactions on the blockchain. The core of Fetch.ai’s technology relies on autonomous software agents that can manage resources, conduct transactions, and analyse data flows independently thanks to AI algorithms. These agents unlock a myriad of real-world applications across sectors like automotive, supply chain, healthcare, and digital identity. For example, AI agents could optimise production schedules based on supply chain data or match patients to clinical trials using health records. The tamper-proof nature of blockchain also enables secure transmission and access to sensitive data. “The convergence of blockchain, AI and IoT is trailblazing the digital transformation of entire industries,” said Dirk Röder, Head of Deutsche Telekom’s Web3 Infrastructure & Solutions team. “Autonomous agents will automate industrial services, simplifying processes securely thanks to blockchain.” As a validator, Deutsche Telekom MMS will ensure network security as more devices, users, and services integrate with the Fetch.ai blockchain. Built on the Cosmos protocol, Fetch.ai operates as a permissionless decentralised network with open-source code that is accessible globally. The collaboration demonstrates how blockchain can unlock AI’s potential by providing reliable, transparent data while AI can help securely analyse blockchain transactions. Together, these technologies lay the foundations for a decentralised Web3 internet that empowers user privacy and control. “This partnership signals real progress in integrating AI and Web3 innovations into the machine economy,” said Fetch.ai CEO Humayun Sheikh. Deutsche Telekom and Fetch.ai will be working together at one of Europe’s largest AI and IoT hackathons, Bosch Connected Experience, on 28-29 February 2024.