Fetch.ai, an artificial intelligence lab based in the British city of Cambridge, and Datarella, a Munich-based blockchain company, are partnering to launch MOBIX, a micromobility marketplace designed to incentivize people to use eco-friendly micromobility services such as e-scooters and bicycles in exchange for cryptocurrency.
The MOBIX marketplace, built on the Fetch.ai blockchain, aims to address the transportation and environmental concerns in urban areas by connecting micromobility service providers with end-users and incentivizing urban residents to use eco-friendly transport.
MOBIX users will be able to search for and use the services of their preferred micromobility service provider through the MOBIX mobile wallet and earn MOBIX miles through their trips. The miles can be converted into MOBIX tokens for future trips or traded at cryptocurrency exchanges.
“This partnership aligns with our long-term goal of creating an entirely autonomous agent-based digital economy,” said Humayun Sheikh, CEO of Fetch.ai, in a statement. “The micromobility industry needs to enable more autonomous solutions and this requires building the infrastructure to make it commonplace.”
Urban areas are home to 55% of the world’s population, with the figure expected to increase to 68% by 2050, according to the United Nations. “Micromobility is a global megatrend that combines eco-friendly mobility, a dynamic lifestyle and environmental sustainability,” Sheikh told Forkast.News in an email.
“This partnership is an evolution of the eco-friendly mobility solutions Fetch.ai and Datarella have been working on. Starting with smart parking use-case in Munich to incentivizing users to pursue sustainable mobility solutions whilst earning incentives,” Sheikh added. Users will be able to select from and pay for a range of micromobility service providers including Lime, Tier, VOI, Frog, Fiqsy, Dott, Bolt, Emmy, Jawls, MVG Bike, Deutsche Bahn – Call a Bike, MVGO and Quick using their Fetch.ai blockchain-based MOBIX mobile wallet.
A MOBIX stakedrop, which allows owners of FET, the native token of the Fetch.ai blockchain, to receive MOBX reward tokens by staking their FET on the Fetch.ai mainnet, is taking place from October to Dec. 20.
“MOBIX isn‘t just another token-based project — MOBIX is the first project ever leveraging a combination of blockchain technology, Self-Sovereign Identity SSI, and AI to globally incentivize eco-friendly, sustainable mobility behavior,” said Michael Reuter, CEO of MOBIX and Datarella, in a statement.