Seoul-based payment technology startup CHAI recently announced a $60 million Series B financing round.
The round was led by by Korean conglomerate Hanwha Investment & Securities, with participation from SoftBank Ventures Asia, SK Networks, Aarden Partners, Hashed and other strategic partners. This round follows a $15 million Series A from February 2020, making the total investment in CHAI $75 million.
With the global digital payments market forecast to reach $10 trillion by 2026, this round of funding sets up CHAI to meet the rising demand for businesses to move online. CHAI offers the easiest and most efficient way for online businesses to start accepting payments through its B2B service I'mport. I'mport tackles the fragmented payments market by providing a single, unified API that enables e-commerce businesses to choose from a comprehensive set of over 20 different payment options, ranging from credit cards, digital wallets and wire transfer. Hailed as the simplest and highly programmable solution by developers, I'mport currently serves over 2,200 merchants including global brands such as Nike Korea and Philip Morris Korea.
CHAI also operates an e-wallet and debit card business, which has quickly gained 2.5 million users since launching in June 2019. Most recently, CHAI launched a gamified rewards platform for the CHAI Card, where users earn 'bolts' to unlock instant cashback at popular brands. By adding game-like features and social elements, CHAI has digitized the plastic card experience, driving traffic to its platform while keeping the convenience of a plastic card consumers have become accustomed to.
Daniel Shin, CEO of CHAI
We also designed an online rewards platform for the CHAI card, creating a more vibrant customer experience that goes beyond the convenience of a plastic card. We are excited to continue to drive innovation with support from experienced investors such as Hanwha and SoftBank Ventures Asia.
SoftBank Ventures Asia's CEO and Managing Partner JP Lee
As more and more attention is drawn to the Fintech-as-a-service market, we have no doubt that CHAI will make a significant mark in Asia and beyond. We are excited to support CHAI as they start to scale across different new markets.
