R3 is a financial technology firm renowned for spearheading a consortium comprising over 100 leading global financial institutions. The firm's primary focus is the development and implementation of distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) tailored for the worldwide financial markets. Founded in 2014 by a group of nine banks, including prominent names like Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, and JP Morgan, R3 embarked on a mission to leverage blockchain technology for the benefit of commercial markets.

As a purveyor of enterprise technology and services, R3's offerings are designed to foster direct, digital collaboration across regulated industries where trust plays a pivotal role. The company's efforts are geared towards enhancing processes within sectors such as banking, capital markets, global trade, and insurance. R3 distinguishes itself through the provision of a private DLT application platform and confidential computing technology, maintaining a production ecosystem that connects over 400 entities. This ecosystem encompasses a diverse range of stakeholders, including global systems integrators, cloud providers, technology firms, software vendors, corporates, regulators, and financial institutions from both the public and private sectors.

History

Initially, R3 aimed to secure $200 million in funding from consortium members, offering them a 90% stake in a new entity. However, in November 2016, the firm adjusted its target, proposing a 60% stake for members. This period saw notable departures from the consortium, including Goldman Sachs, Santander, and JPMorgan. In response, R3 expanded its membership to include entities like ABN AMRO and Suncorp Group.

The company faced criticism over its initial portrayal as a "blockchain startup," given the nature of its technology. To address this, R3 revised its website in early 2017 to more accurately reflect its focus on distributed ledger technology, rather than traditional blockchain.

Significant milestones in R3's journey include partnerships with Calypso Technology in 2017 to deliver trade matching services and the recruitment of Bryan D'Souza in 2019 to bolster its European operations.

In 2017, R3 entered into a legal dispute with Ripple over a contract concerning the purchase rights of XRP digital tokens. The conflict involved lawsuits filed by both parties, ultimately leading to court decisions in R3's favor in New York, while a Delaware court dismissed the case.

Innovations and Collaborations

R3 launched Corda Settler in 2018, a software application aimed at enabling cryptocurrency-based payments on enterprise blockchains, initially supporting XRP.^[6] The firm also announced a significant integration with SWIFT's GPI^[5] Link gateway, testing its compatibility with Corda for enhancing global payment flows.

Other notable projects include MonetaGo's switch to Corda from Hyperledger Fabric^[4] and the incorporation of Digital Asset's Digital Asset Markup Language (DAML) to streamline workflows on Corda.

Expansion and Development

In 2019, R3 announced strategic moves to expand its global footprint, including staff increases and the establishment of a new office in Dublin. The company also deepened its involvement in various sectors, such as foreign trade and insurance in Brazil, and entered into a partnership with GoldGram Pte. Ltd.

Products and Services

R3 is known for developing Corda, an open-source DLT aimed at facilitating inter-operable blockchain networks that can transact privately. Corda's design allows it to function within existing financial and regulatory frameworks, establishing a standard for financial transactions and record-keeping. Unlike conventional blockchains, Corda shares verified transactions selectively, enhancing privacy and compliance.

Fundraising

In May 2017, R3 successfully raised $107 million in a funding round that saw participation from a mix of financial services and technology companies, including SBI Group, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, HSBC, Intel, and Temasek. This investment underscores the industry's confidence in R3's vision and its potential to revolutionize the financial technology landscape.

Partnerships

R3 initially established a relationship with Ripple to use XRP as the settlement token and more recently has bridged its development to make use of XDC as a settlement token^[3]. R3 continues to grow with new partnerships in various market sectors. As stated on R3's website:

R3’s Partner Connect fuels momentum in world’s largest blockchain ecosystem by enabling partners to deliver apps tailored to key industries

R3, the enterprise blockchain software firm, has launched a partner program designed to train and educate its global network of partners, drive application and solution development, build professional services practices and accelerate customer deployments.

R3’s Partner Connect provides an extensive framework of support to independent software vendors (ISVs), system integrators (SIs) and business network operators (BNOs) building apps on the Corda Enterprise blockchain platform. R3 will provide firms that sign up to Partner Connect with resources to build out and sell their applications and services on Corda Enterprise.