Ripple makes another $5M investment to expand UBRI in APAC

• Ripple will invest $5M to expand its University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI) in six APAC countries.
• The total UBRI funding in Asia now exceeds $11 million.
• New focus areas include AI agents, RWA tokenization, and zk-SNARKs.

Ripple Labs has announced a fresh $5 million investment to expand blockchain education and research across the Asia-Pacific region, strengthening its long-standing commitment to developing real-world blockchain applications through academic partnerships.

The new funding, revealed on June 10, is part of Ripple’s University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI), which now totals more than $11 million in regional support since its launch.

With this expansion, Ripple is reinforcing its presence in six countries, including deepening collaborations in South Korea, Japan, and Singapore, and forging new partnerships in Taiwan and Australia.

The initiative reflects Ripple’s broader strategy to nurture a global talent pipeline in blockchain technology, particularly through applied research on the XRP Ledger and related innovations.

Ripple is eyeing student innovation across top Asian universities

Ripple is focusing heavily on student-led innovation and academic research, targeting universities known for their influence in fintech and digital asset studies.

In South Korea, Ripple has renewed a $1.1 million partnership with Korea University, which will fund advanced blockchain research, including projects on privacy-preserving technologies such as zk-SNARKs and scalable layer-2 solutions.

This follows earlier collaborations with Yonsei University and Hanyang University, both of which are conducting research into secure blockchain infrastructures and decentralized finance models.

In Japan, Ripple continues to back the University of Tokyo and Kyoto University, where previous UBRI grants have already surpassed $1.5 million.

These institutions are playing a key role in exploring next-generation blockchain use cases, contributing directly to the region’s rising prominence in digital innovation.

Taiwan has joined the UBRI network with RWA tokenization focus

Ripple’s expansion into Taiwan marks a significant milestone for the UBRI program, with the National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) becoming UBRI’s 60th global partner.

The university will explore the tokenization of real-world assets, an area gaining momentum in Taiwan’s financial sector, supported by initiatives from the Financial Supervisory Commission and leading financial institutions.

As part of the grant, NKUST will launch a student XRPL Builders Club and operate a validator node, offering students direct engagement with blockchain infrastructure.

Research at NKUST will also examine the cross-chain implications of tokenizing assets across XRPL, Ethereum, and Solana, as well as the policy and compliance challenges involved.

Singapore has ramped up AI-on-blockchain research

Ripple is also doubling down in Singapore, where funding now exceeds $3 million across two major institutions: Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and the National University of Singapore (NUS).

At NTU, researchers are building an autonomous AI agent network on the XRP Ledger, aiming to develop a transparent and modular system for collaborative AI development using blockchain technology.

Meanwhile, Ripple’s renewed support for NUS will further initiatives such as the first university-based DAO in Asia, which was created through earlier UBRI backing.

These projects illustrate Ripple’s interest in the intersection of AI, decentralized governance, and real-world blockchain use cases.

Australia is seeing renewed academic ties and legal research

In Australia, Ripple has expanded its presence by partnering with Victoria University and renewing its long-term relationship with the Australian National University (ANU), raising its total academic investment in the country to $1.3 million.

Victoria University will focus on curriculum development to integrate blockchain into core educational programs, helping to equip students with industry-ready skills.

At ANU, Ripple’s funding supports ongoing research into blockchain law, virtual assets, and smart contract platforms, including the Layer 2 Evernode project built on XRPL.

Ripple also noted that ANU will continue publishing research through its Journal of Law and Technology while operating an XRPL validator to contribute to the network.

UBRI’s role in Ripple’s larger APAC strategy

The expanded UBRI investment aligns with Ripple’s broader push in the region, where it launched the XRPL Japan and Korea Fund in 2024 and partnered with Web3 Salon to support XRPL-based startups.

Ripple also remains a key investor in HashKey Capital’s XRP Tracker Fund, Asia’s first institutional investment fund centered on XRP.

This year’s UBRI Connect event will be hosted at the XRP Ledger Apex Summit, with a pre-summit hosted at NUS, underlining the growing role of APAC in shaping the future of blockchain.

With this $5 million boost, Ripple is not just funding research but laying a strategic foundation for blockchain adoption led by academia and student innovators across Asia.

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