Consulting giant PwC has announced the acquisition of a minority stake in blockchain startup VeChain.

In a press release dated May 4, PwC Hong Kong and PwC Singapore announced that they are in a joint business relationship with VeChain, a blockchain service provider specialising in the Internet of Things (IoT), supply chain management and anti-counterfeiting.

“In connection with this joint business relationship, PwC Hong Kong and PwC Singapore have each acquired a small ownership interest in VeChain,” the release stated.

Last year, VeChain became a portfolio company of PwC's incubation programme.

PwC Hong Kong is now seeking to provide trust-based services on the VeChain platform, which will involve use of VeChain Tokens to access and perform transactions on the platform.

“We are glad to establish a deeper relationship with VeChain, which aims to build a trusted and distributed business ecosystem to help address long-standing challenges in supply chain management, food trust and anti-counterfeiting areas. VeChain’s mission aligns with PwC’s purpose of solving important problems and building trust in society,” Raymund Chao, PwC Asia Pacific and Greater China Chairman, said.

VeChain is one of the founding members of the recently launched Mobility Open Blockchain Initiative, MOBI. Earlier this month, the startup announced that the Public Alpha phase of the VeChainThor Blockchain will begin mid-May, with the mainnet launch expected to occur at the end of June.