IOG (IOHK)
A globally distributed, blockchain infrastructure and engineering company. The creators and developers of the Cardano blockchain.
IOG (formerly IOHK and still using both names interchangeably) are the developers of the Cardano blockchain and primary contributors to the development of the Ethereum Classic blockchain.
They believe in changing the world through "Cascading disruption". This is based in the belief that our whole society is built on top of unstable structures, be them social, financial, or governmental, and that, by giving these structures a nudge, they can create a minor ripple effects that can shake up and change the system completely. Their stated mission is to create a:
"more connected, transparent and fair configuration for both the flow of ideas and value."
Distilled down into tangible, real world talk:
IOG wants to contribute to global development in this crucial time of global technological growth by building the platforms, financial and otherwise, to combine the developing world system (of no banks, no insurance, no identity, no credit, little wealth creation and even lower levels of wealth security) with the developed world system; where all of these things are ubiquitous.
Their vision is that this will be done by pushing power to the edges and putting people in charge of their own money, identity, and giving them greater control over their own governance. Creating a better system for a better world where both rich and poor people use the same system that is beneficial to everyone.
How Do We Get There?
The road IOG is following toward this goal is one that begins with a solid base of academic research, that is rigorously peer-reviewed and tested before being considered for implementation. IOHK benefits from a globally decentralized research team, supplemented by multiple university partnerships around the world, providing the company with a diverse array of talent, experience, and, arguably most importantly, cultural perspectives.
Peer Reviewed Library
Currently IOG’s library of published academic papers numbers at over 140, ranging from papers that cover the development of the proof of stake protocol, Ouroboros, that underpins the Cardano blockchain, to papers covering the development of an efficient poker protocol for a decentralized, distributed ledger.
Solutions for Business and Government
Through Atala IOG offers three enterprise blockchain solutions covering everything from supply chain traceability for food and verifiability for unique and luxury goods, to decentralized identity and credential management that secures a user’s identity and other credentials in a verifiable and decentralized way.
IOG is currently working with the Ethiopian Government, to develop a blockchain based system for tracking student performance.
Cardano
Called The “Fathers” of Cardano, IOG are the developers of the Cardano blockchain and those responsible for developing, deciding on, and overseeing the implementation of protocol upgrades i.e. hardforks. They provide developers with a multitude of tools that can be used to interact with and build on top of the Cardano blockchain. These range from oracles to wallet backend databases and all are listed here on this site.
IOG are also the developers and maintainers of the Daedalus Wallet a full-node wallet for Cardano.