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Update about.md: add history 2016-2020
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@ -15,16 +15,22 @@ mediakit:
link: /mediakit.zip
intro: >
BigchainDB is a blockchain database offering decentralization, immutability and native assets. BigchainDB allows for the deployment of large-scale applications in a variety of use cases and industries from intellectual property and identity to supply chain, IoT and artificial intelligence. BigchainDB provides unique solutions for developers, start-ups and enterprises to successfully build their concepts, platforms and applications as big as they can dream.
BigchainDB is a blockchain database offering decentralization, immutability and native assets. BigchainDB allows for the deployment of large-scale applications in a variety of use cases and industries from intellectual property and identity to supply chain, and Internet-of-Things.
---
## Our story
In the summer of 2013, we started working on a project that became ascribe, blockchain-based intellectual property (IP) attribution. We asked the question: how can creators of any digital IP get compensated? Why not own digital art the way you own Bitcoin? With a public store of attribution and provenance, blockchain technology could solve this. So we raised some money, hired a few early employees and kept working on the product until we were satisfied enough to release it, built on the Bitcoin blockchain. The product was basically in shape to serve larger-scale customers, with the glaring exception of the blockchain scalability. We found ourselves needing to turn down opportunities knowing that the Bitcoin blockchain wouldn’t be able to handle the throughput we needed to serve larger enterprises.
In summer 2013, we started working on a project that became [ascribe](www.ascribe.io). It started with problems in the art world: "how do you collect digital art?" and "how do digital artists get paid?". To address this, we wondered aloud: "what if you could own digital art the way you own Bitcoin?" We pulled on this thread further; the idea made sense. So we built early prototypes, raised money, hired a few early employees, and improved the product. We released in beta in 2014, and production in early 2015. We built on the Bitcoin blockchain. Alas, its scalability issues prevented us from serving larger customers.
With this as a starting point, we asked how do we “blockchain-ify” it? We drew on our experience in shipping blockchain products to define three specific characteristics: decentralized, immutable and the ability to register and transfer assets. With the definitions above as a starting point, we chose an enterprise-class distributed database and then built our own technology on top of that, adding those three key characteristics while improving base functionality, fault tolerance much more. See our [roadmap](https://github.com/bigchaindb/org/blob/master/ROADMAP.md).
We observed that MongoDB and other distributed databases (DBs) were powering webapps at internet scale. We asked: how do we “blockchain-ify” such a database? We saw that they'd need three new characteristics: decentralized, immutable, and the ability to "own" assets by holding the private key. So, we wrapped RethinkDB (and later MongoDB) with code to achieve the target characteristics. The result is BigchainDB software.
From the seed of the idea, to intense efforts starting late summer 2015, we made the announcement in February 2016. What initially started as a “let’s solve our own problem” approach almost immediately turned into something much bigger than we expected. With people and enterprises from across all industries reaching out looking to partner, collaborate, license or build on the technology, it became clear that we were solving much more than our own problem. The result is BigchainDB, a blockchain database for the world.
We started to build a prototype of BigchainDB in late summer 2015. It matured enough to open-source and announce BigchainDB in February 2016. What initially started as a “let’s solve our own problem” approach quickly turned into something much bigger than we expected. People and enterprises from across all industries reached out looking to build on the technology. It became clear that we were solving much more than our own problem.
[ascribe](https://www.ascribe.io/) and [WhereOnTheNet](https://www.whereonthe.net/) are all registered trademarks of BigchainDB.
We ran into another issue. Many people built prototypes on the technology, but there was no "live" network ready for them to use in production. Deploying their own became huge exercises and governance. So with others in the community, we initiated [IPDB Foundation](ipdb.io). Its mandate included running a live public BigchainDB network. We spent a lot of time designing governance.
By early 2017, we'd spent nearly four years thinking about IP and big data. We started to see problems at the intersection of these topics: how can you securely "own" data, and sell it while avoiding "data escapes"? Modern artificial intelligence (AI) was on the rise, and with it, the demand for way more data. We realized that blockchain technology could help, especially decentralized data marketplaces. With Toyota Research Institute, we [built](https://techcrunch.com/2017/05/22/toyota-pushes-into-blockchain-tech-to-enable-the-next-generation-of-cars) a prototype data marketplace that used BigchainDB.
This initial foray into decentralized data marketplaces grew into a much larger project: [Ocean Protocol](www.oceanprotocol.com). The team at BigchainDB GmbH (the company) is now focused on Ocean Protocol. [IPDB Foundation](ipdb.io) has [assumed governance](https://medium.com/ipdb-blog/ipdb-foundation-assumes-governance-of-bigchaindb-software-and-testnet-51235322e14c) of the BigchainDB software and networks.
"ascribe" is a registered trademark of BigchainDB.