19 Apr 2021

Imagine a scenario in which a company looks for specialized data scientists to help them analyse their data and take data-driven decisions. Now imagine that this process takes place in a fully trusted, traceable and transparent environment. 
Sounds interesting? Then you must read this interview with Marcel Müller, Managing Director of JadenX, about the KnowledgeX project!

Marcel Mueller

 

Could you please introduce yourself?

We are JadenX, a German SME founded in 2019. JadenX’s goal is to disrupt the industry by innovating processes with Deep Tech, such as artificial intelligence or blockchain. Deep Tech Innovation is especially challenging due to its high reliance on current research and ‘bleeding edge’ characteristics.

With its mix of research-oriented personnel and developers, JadenX builds innovative solutions. In the past, JadenX has been involved heavily in blockchain for supply chain management. Other areas of expertise include business process management, artificial intelligence, and data science.

 

How did you hear about ONTOCHAIN?

We learned about ONTOCHAIN on the NGI website, where an overview of all NGI projects is provided.

 

What motivated you to apply?

The project appeared to have a really good setup with interesting partners. Especially iExec and their solutions were on our radar for a longer period of time. Thus, we saw this opportunity as a very good fit for our objectives.

 

How was the application process?

The application process is compared to other NGI projects heavier, but compared to non-cascade funding projects in H2020 / HEU much more lightweight. NGI Assure and NGI Pointer have a very light process that leaves it more open how to structure the proposal. We understand the challenges of structuring a large application process for 18 projects out of more than 120. However, the process did not feel too bureaucratic.

 

Can you briefly explain your project and its contribution to the ONTOCHAIN software ecosystem?

KnowledgeX is a general framework that enables companies to find external data scientists and technically enforce service agreements between them. KnowledgeX uses iExec and we plan to integrate with other projects in the ONTOCHAIN ecosystem. There are synergies possible with a variety of different projects. However, it is very challenging in this stage since the other projects in the ecosystem are also in a very early stage of their project. We believe KnowledgeX can provide a generalized platform for trusted knowledge extraction and hence a foundation for other ONTOCHAIN applications on top.

 

The ONTOCHAIN project is based on a co-development process, how can you benefit from an experience like this? And what type of synergies are you eager to explore with the other selected teams?

The biggest benefits for such a project lies for us in the collaboration opportunities on a research, technical and business development level. The research-oriented coaches are skilled in their area of expertise, and their selection for our project synergizes well with our expertise. On a technical level, we are happy to work with colleagues from iExec, who have a deep understanding of the platform they provide. The network enables us also to connect to potential testbeds for our solution and business development opportunities.

 

What are your expectations regarding the new software ecosystem that ONTOCHAIN will deliver, its contribution to the NGI priority areas, and benefits for end users?

The promise of a human-centric internet seems intriguing. We believe in a free and open Internet, as it was envisioned in the beginning. Decentralization and collaboration are the two elements that ONTOCHAIN explores deeper. We strongly believe that these values have to be further developed with other NGI projects, but also with more aspects of digital sovereignty. For a human-centric Internet that benefits the society as a whole without lock-in effects, censorship, or influence, a sovereign infrastructure is needed more than ever. ONTOCHAIN does that on a software level, but we also think that hardware aspects need to be covered. The Gaia-X projects started by the EU Commission seems to be going in this direction with a sovereign cloud infrastructure. We hope that a sovereign infrastructure (such as hopefully set up by Gaia-X) can be a background for the human-centric NGI that we envision.

 

KnowledgeX