Flipkart, Polygon partner to speed up Web3 & Metaverse e-commerce use-cases

To set up Blockchain-e-commerce Centre of Excellence towards this end

E-commerce unicorn Flipkart and Web3 platform Polygon have entered a strategic partnership to set up a Blockchain-e-commerce Centre of Excellence (CoE) that will work on research and development of Web3 and metaverse commerce use-cases in India.

“With the CoE, we look forward to working with them and leveraging their expertise and technical knowhow to successfully onboard users not just to the value proposition of Web3 or Metaverse commerce but also Web3 in general,” said Jeyandran Venugopal, Chief Product and Technology Officer, Flipkart.

Venugopal said that innovation is one of the main pillars for Flipkart. “We have consistently worked towards technology solutions to scale new frontiers and introduce new products and services. We are delighted to partner with Polygon, a company at the forefront of blockchain innovation, nationally and internationally.”  

Aiming to accelerate Web3 adoption in India, the partnership will be an opportunity to create a large impact and deliver on the promise of Web3 for all, the company said in a statement.

“Polygon’s mission is to bring the next billion users to Web3 and this partnership will pioneer research and development at the intersection of Web3 and experiential retail which will advance adoption and impact in India and across the world,” said Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder of Polygon.

“We see the Blockchain-eCommerce Centre of Excellence as an engine for the evolution of e-commerce in the years to come,” he added.

Earlier this year, Flipkart had also announced that Flipkart Labs would incubate various solutions to bring innovation to the e-commerce scene in India. With Labs, Flipkart ventured into Web3 and Metaverse commerce to explore NFTs, Virtual Immersive stores, and other Blockchain-related use cases.

Since then, Flipkart launched FireDrops, an easy-to-use NFT platform for brands to explore new horizons of community building and pivot the value of NFTs around utilities.

Further, during the festive sale, Flipkart also partnered with eDAO to launch a virtual shopping experience in the metaverse - called Flipverse. The new offering enabled brands to organise unique product launches and create engaging experiences for users within a hyper-realistic, game-like environment.

Naren Ravula, VP, Head of Product Strategy at Flipkart and Head of Flipkart Labs, said, “The partnership brings expertise from the world of e-commerce and Blockchain and lays the foundation for innovation at a protocol, platform, and product level for decentralized e-commerce in India, especially through brand collaborations and initiatives like 3D storefronts, novel NFT drop mechanisms, trustless standards for commerce, on-chain loyalty, and play-to-earn experiences.”