SG’s Cosmose AI hits $500m valuation after fresh round

The Cosmose team / Photo credit: Cosmose

Singapore-based Cosmose AI said it has received an undisclosed sum from nonprofit Near Foundation to build a payment system that allows users to shop with cryptocurrency at low transaction fees.

The deal bumped Cosmose AI’s valuation to US$500 million from US$100 million at the time of its series A round.

Funding details

• Funding amount: Undisclosed
• Lead investor: Near Foundation
• Stage: Strategic investment
• Valuation: US$500 million
• Source

Using smartphone data, Cosmose AI analyzes foot traffic and engages consumers online, providing insights into offline shopping habits and driving footfall across 20 million venues in Asia.

Its suite of retail solutions includes an online targeting platform and KaiKai, an app that lets customers discover nearby retail stores. The app will use Kai-Ching, Near’s native stablecoin, to settle payments. Kai-Ching is pegged to the US dollar to prevent value volatility.

Cosmose keeps a treasury for Kai-Ching, and users can top up the stablecoin with fiat currency.

In 2020, Cosmose announced its series A funding led by Tiga Investments, OTB Ventures, and TDJ Pitango. Since then, the startup has expanded its platform to include markets such as mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, and Southeast Asia.

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