Former Google CEO Becomes Strategic Advisor At Chainlink

Chainlink Labs – a smart-contract oracle service provider – recently signed on former Google CEO Eric Schmidt as a strategic advisor. Schmidt’s duty will be to help guide Chainlink in building “a world guided by truth.”

Schmidt Joins Chainlink

Chainlink announced its recruitment of the Ex-Google chief in a statement this Tuesday. The team is focused on aggregating and implementing real-world data to be used as smart contracts built on various blockchains. This is accomplished by using oracle networks, which connect web 3.0 systems with legacy databases.

In aggregate, Chainlink has helped secure over $80 billion in total value locked across multiple smart-contract chains.

“Blockchain networks and Chainlink oracles are at a crucial inflection point in terms of growth and adoption,” said Chainlink co-founder Sergey Nazarov. “ Eric’s experience and insights around building global software platforms for next-generation innovation will be invaluable as we help developers and institutions usher in a new age of economic fairness and transparency.”

Eric Schmidt helped Google scale its infrastructure, including a $23 billion IPO, while presiding over the launch of Gmail, Google Maps, Chrome, Adsense, and Fiber. He was also chairman of the Department of Defence’s innovation board, and National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence. Today, he is the co-founder of Schmidt Futures and chairman of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.

Schmidt believes blockchain’s lack of connection to the physical world is one of its glaring weaknesses, which Chainlink helps alleviate:

“Chainlink is a secret ingredient to unlocking the potential of smart contract platforms and revolutionising business and society. I am excited to be helping the Chainlink Labs team build a world powered by truth.”

Eric Schmidt. Source: Vox

Chainlink’s Connections

Chainlink is focused on building a multi-blockchain ecosystem and has proven successful in expanding its network thus far. In October, the company partnered with Cardano – a top ten blockchain ecosystem – to bring oracle systems to Cardano’s smart contracts. This was remarkable timing, given that Cardano had only recently implemented smart contracts onto their chain.

More recently, the Associated Press announced that it will run a Chainlink node, used to provide smart contract developers with verifiable data from a highly reputable source.