The blockchain revolution has truly become a global phenomenon. It has attracted the interest of companies ranging from leading names in the BFSI sector to newly-formed startups. A large number of Indian companies have been experimenting with the blockchain technology. Vizag-based blockchain startup Zebi Data India has been gaining a lot of attention of late.
Zebi Data India pvt ltd was recently in the news over providing a blockchain based solution for maintaining land records regarding the greenfield Amaravati project in Andhra Pradesh. The company, which currently has 30 employees - has stated that they aim to expand to a team of 900 employees by 2022 - and target a revenue of $60 Million.
This Indian startup is one of the hottest names in the Indian blockchain ecosystem and recently gained a funding of $10 Million. The company now plans to introduce blockchain-based innovations in the hotels and hospitality sector - an ever-booming market in India. In fact, the CEO has stated that they have started off with a pilot project involving 200 hotels in Vizag.Babu Munagala, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Zebi Data, commented:
“After securing land records with Blockchain, we have developed an AI Chain, extending the security layer to the hospitality industry. We have deployed the AI solution in over 200 hotels in Vizag. The hotels are supposed to share the information with the police, leaving it vulnerable to breaches. The secure technology would make it easy for them in doing this.”
As per Zebi, these blockchain-based AI solutions ensure a smoother check-in process as well as help the hotels keep the data safe. As per local law, hotel owners have to provide the details of all travellers to the police on a frequent basis. However, this is a process which most hotels carry out manually. This not only takes a lot of time but also opens up a scope for misuse, as well as a risk of loss or theft of data. Digitizing and automating this process with the help of blockchain technology can make it faster and safer.
Blockchain in the Hospitality Sector
The hospitality sector in India is a major, untapped sector - expected to hit $2.3 Billion by 2020. Zebi Data is tapping into this sector at just the right time. With these blockchain based solutions in place, hotel owners will get their work done in a faster and safer manner while guests checking into the hotel do not need to worry as their data would not have to be stored in a physical form with the hotel owner.
Interestingly, there has been a global interest in getting cryptocurrencies to the hospitality sector. We reported last month that a number of Russian hotels would be accepting cryptocurrency payments during the FIFA World Cup 2018 which is all set to be held next month in Russia. Moreover, India’s own Oyo Rooms pulled off an April Fool’s day prank when they announced the launch of an ‘Oyo Smart Coin’.
India Trusts Blockchain Tech
Despite having a somewhat negative stance when it comes to cryptocurrencies, the Indian government has been rather optimistic towards the blockchain technology. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed it as a ‘disruptive’ technology in a recent speech. This speech came after India announced a program of issuing degree certificates over blockchain systems. The government is also planning a crackdown on fake drugs with the help of blockchain tech.
Zebi Data India is tapping into the sector at just the right time. The city of Vizag (Visakhapatnam), where this startup is based out of, is actually being developed as the Blockchain Hub of the country! It will be interesting to see how the company performs over the next few years.