Steve Wozniak launches blockchain energy saving firm

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Apple co-founder and tech guru Steve Wozniak has co-founded a blockchain-based energy saving firm in Malta. According to a report by local outlet The Malta Independent, Woz, as he is fondly called, announced the new company during a pre-launch of the Delta Summit.

Known as Efforce, the company will provide a blockchain-based platform that will allow its users to invest in energy efficiency. Efforce intends to become the world’s first and main platform for tokenized energy savings.

Woz believes that not only will the platform save money on energy, it will also play a role in conserving the environment. “Blockchain will improve the way we use energy and lower energy consumption without changing our habits,” he said.

The company has been successful in its journey thus far. Its unique business model was partly responsible for this success, he said. However, the Maltese government has also been supportive of the enterprise. The government’s openness to emerging technology such as blockchain technology was one of the key reasons he decided to invest in the country. Woz’ love for Malta may even extend beyond plain business interests, with the beloved innovator hinting that he may even live there some day: “It has been on my mind for decades. Like no other place in the world.”

According to its website, Efforce is the first platform that allows contributors to profit from the energy savings generated by energy efficient projects worldwide. The company lists a large number of global firms that it claims have enrolled on its platform. They include Deutsche Bank, Pirelli, Walmart, BP, Qatar Airways, Hertz, Shell, Maersk and Boeing.

Woz co-founded the company with Jacopo Visetti who currently runs it. According to LinkedIn, Visetti founded the company in January 2018 in Milan, but decided to move it to Malta to take advantage of the country’s progressive crypto laws. “It was the most open minded country we could find in the world in terms of new technology,” he stated.

Woz has been a vocal proponent of blockchain technology. In the past, he has requested crypto developers to come up with solutions to centralized giants. One of the projects he has previously asked developers to launch is a decentralized social media platform.