The Cronos Groep also reaffirms its commitment to Solid and Athumi’s success by continuing to provide the managed services and support for Athumi’s Pod platform.
Athumi’s Pod offering enables companies to get their customers' consent to access personal data in order to provide better and more personalized services. Personal datastores build trust by giving consumers control over their data, while also giving companies the opportunity to access premium, first-party data.
The three-way agreement ensures that companies in Flanders and beyond can rely on Athumi’s Solid Pod platform for years to come — a key signal that the time is now to begin building next-generation digital products that take advantage of Solid’s unique ability to support secure data collaboration.
With this commitment, Athumi has the resources and technology to fulfill its mission to make Flanders a shining example of a next-generation data economy that delivers on the principles of citizen control and data sovereignty as laid out by the European Commission.
"As we continue to push the boundaries of data innovation, our extended partnership with Inrupt and Cronos Groep reaffirms our commitment to pioneering the next-generation data economy in Flanders. Through Solid technology and Athumi's facilitative role, we are not only revolutionizing data collaboration but also solidifying Flanders' position as a key player in the global innovation ecosystem. Together, we're laying the groundwork for a future where data empowers individuals and businesses alike, driving sustainable growth and innovation across industries."
Björn De Vidts – Acting CEO Athumi
Inrupt and Athumi, then the Data Utility Company, announced their intention to build a Solid Pod offering for citizens and businesses in 2021. After extensive development and testing, the Solid platform was launched in May 2023 featuring a first use case to share diploma data together with HR service provider Randstad.
Since then, Athumi has fielded interest from key industries like employment agencies, education, energy, and healthcare. Most recently, Athumi announced its Solid Pod platform will support the 5 major Dutch media companies in their mission to provide personal data vaults for all media consumers in the Netherlands.
“Inrupt is proud to further our partnership with Athumi and to support the many innovative businesses in Flanders building on Solid technology. As Solid spreads around the world, Flanders remains at the forefront of deploying it to show technology that both respects citizens and delivers them exciting new value from their data.”
John Bruce, CEO and co-founder of Inrupt
In order to meet the needs of these diverse organizations, Athumi, Inrupt and Cronos have developed joint offerings to take new use cases and ecosystems from idea to production deployment.
Now, the three organizations are scaling those offerings over a multi-year horizon. The renewed partnership includes improved infrastructure, sandbox environments for pilot deployments, and joint use case development.
“As the Cronos Group, we are always at the forefront of developing new technologies, and we support new businesses in exploring these technologies for over 30 years. Solid is a very promising technology for the Cronos Group, as we believe that citizens are becoming increasingly aware of their personal data and its improper use. Numerous use cases have already been identified, and we are actively working on innovative solutions based on Solid. Together with Athumi and Inrupt, we believe that we have a strong partnership to introduce Solid to Flanders and the rest of Europe. Through our multi-year engagement, we envision a significant advancement in Solid, empowering citizens and businesses to reclaim ownership of their data."
Sam Bambust, CEO The Cronos Group