Mykola Paliienko and Tabula Rasa Invest in RICH, a UK-Based Startup Revolutionizing Intellectual Property Protection Through Blockchain Technology
London, UK – February 13, 2025 – Research Integrity Chain (RICH), a deep-tech startup with Ukrainian roots, has unveiled an innovative blockchain platform designed to protect and monetize intellectual property (IP) in both the scientific and business sectors. With an aim to redefine how IP is safeguarded in the digital age, RICH’s cutting-edge solution is poised to transform the industry.
The first major strategic partner and investor in RICH is Tabula Rasa, a leading Ukrainian IT group specializing in digital solutions for businesses and governments. Mykola Paliienko, co-founder of Tabula Rasa and a key figure in the IT sector with notable success in companies such as Prom.ua and Vchasno.ua, shares his rationale for backing RICH: “As more operations move online, data protection has become a critical concern. The RICH platform offers an advanced level of IP security, effectively mitigating the risks of plagiarism and intellectual property theft.”
RICH’s platform leverages blockchain technology and artificial intelligence to create a secure environment for verifying the authenticity of scientific papers, research, and other forms of intellectual property. By assigning each data fragment a token that includes timestamps, author details, and other metadata, RICH ensures the security and immutability of records, eliminating the possibility of forgery. The platform has the potential to become the world’s first marketplace for non-synthetic scientific data.
Paliienko believes that RICH is set to establish a new global “gold standard” for IP protection. With the IP market valued in the trillions of dollars, and the U.S. alone spending over $1 trillion annually on safeguarding intellectual property, the potential for RICH’s success is significant.
The platform also has strong prospects within Ukraine. “Despite the ongoing war, Ukrainian researchers are actively integrating into the international scientific community, and RICH could be particularly beneficial to the defense sector,” Paliienko adds.
For RICH, partnering with Mykola Paliienko and Tabula Rasa is a key strategic move. “The experience of this team in scaling services like Vchasno.ua, an e-document management platform, is incredibly valuable to us,” says Dmytro Shestakov, co-founder of RICH. “We’ve gained not only investment but also world-class expertise that will be crucial as we expand on the global stage.”
Looking ahead, RICH plans to scale its operations in the U.S., U.K., Canada, and the EU, with plans to collaborate with major institutions such as DARPA, the National Science Foundation, and the BBC.
Founded in January 2024 in London, Research Integrity Chain Ltd. (RICH) was established by serial Ukrainian IT entrepreneurs Dmytro Shestakov, Andriy Matyukhin, and Andriy Afonin, known for their successful ventures including CER.Live, Hacken, and Reviewer Credits. The RICH team is currently working on launching a pilot project with Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, the London Business School, and the University of California, Berkeley, while raising a £1 million pre-seed investment round.