Microsoft is already running a Ripple validator.
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/azure-blockchain-as-a-service-update/#comment-2474418189

Ripple promulgates a lot of hyped nonsense to n00bs in the government, W3C, and banking sector who don't understand the details.

I think the greatest irony is how Larry Summers et al don't realize that they are crafting their own demise by investing in shit such as profitable mining, Lightning (channelled) Networks, smart contracts, Ripple nonsense, etc..

...

Btw, proof-of-stake will never scale out user adoption, because it is a vested interest paradigm, and thus will be destroyed by its stake holders. No stake holder (in any context or business model) allows a competitor to profit. Only permissionless, decentralized systems scale.