"AI MAKES DATA INTELLIGENT. BLOCKCHAIN MAKES DATA TRUSTWORTHY." — AURA BLOCKCHAIN CEO. THIS IS THE INFRASTRUCTURE THESIS FOR LUXURY

2026-05-08T02:33:12.514Z

Aura Blockchain Consortium — founded by LVMH, Prada, Cartier, OTB, Mercedes-Benz — has its new CEO Marcel Härtlein speaking publicly for the first time. The scorecard after 5 years: → 80 million products registered on-chain → 50+ luxury brands on the platform → Members include Louis Vuitton, Loro Piana, Bulgari, Tod's, Marni, Prada → Services: provenance tracking, DPPs, NFTs, resale, repair, loyalty, insurance The next phase mandate: → Shift from blockchain platform → ecosystem orchestrator → From IT-driven → business value-led → Scale DPP adoption ahead of EU regulatory deadlines The regulatory timeline: → EU ESPR passed: 2024 → Delegated act detailing requirements: 2027 → Mandatory compliance: 2028 Härtlein on geopolitics: "Aura's neutrality as a nonprofit consortium is a very powerful statement — increasingly relevant as dependency on North American tech giants grows. " On AI: "AI is not going to replace blockchain. They are complementary. AI makes the ecosystem more intelligent.