Microsoft, Axelar Partner to Bridge Public, Private Blockchains

Microsoft and the cross-chain protocol Axelar announced a partnership on July 11 to connect public and private blockchains.

As a result of the collaboration, Axelar will become the first cross-chain protocol to be listed on the software developer’s online store.

Axelar’s spokesperson, Galen Moore, stated that the initiative would enable Axelar to reach tens of thousands of Microsoft Azure cloud customers.

“This has tremendous potential for products that integrate established internet technology with public blockchains in ways that are meaningful to users,” Moore said.

Developers will have access to tools via the AxelarJS software development kit (SDK) and Axelar’s general message passing, which enables developers to integrate functionality independent of blockchains and databases.

The companies will also investigate the integration of public and private blockchains to support applications utilizing artificial intelligence (AI).

Regarding the nature of these solutions, Sergey Gorbunov, co-founder of Axelar, explained that trust in AI must come from multiple layers:

“Are the models trained on the data that they’re supposed to be on? Did any private data leak into the models? Are the queries sent to the AI returning accurate results? Can we verify the origins of the data? Without answers to these questions, it’s hard to integrate AI to be a “member” of our societies.“

Combining private and public blockchains is the solution, per Gorbunov.

“Blockchains can help establish trust, ensure data integrity, and conceal it within specified jurisdictions,” he said, adding that “connections to public blockchains can be used to demonstrate and establish trust across all consumers, regardless of where they query the data from.”

The Azure marketplace offers over 250,000 applications and services to developers and businesses, according to the company’s website.

A search on the platform uncovers at least 200 blockchain-powered solutions.

Currently, Axelar supports 43 blockchains. It raised $35 million in Series B funding last year, increasing its market value to over $1 billion.

Dragonfly Capital, Polychain Capital, and North Island Ventures are a few participants in the round.