Thailand-based fintech firm Lightnet has raised $31.2 million (£23.9m) in a series A funding round led by UOB Venture Management, Seven Bank, Uni-President Asset Holdings, HashKey Capital, Hopeshine Ventures, Signum Capital, Du Capital and Hanwha Investment and Securities.
The raised funds will be used to fortify the company’s investment in the underlying blockchain technology on the Stellar Network, and to build a next-generation financial mobility network.
Lightnet CEO Suvicha Sudchai said: “Lightnet is offering three innovative solutions, BridgeNet, LiquidNet and SmartNet. The main platform has been completed, and the first transaction is slated for Q1 2020. In addition to the potential 500,000 cash agents across our ecosystem, Lightnet will integrate with several renowned payment and remittance partners such as MoneyGram, Seven Bank, Yeahka, Ksher across Japan, South Korea, and several other South East Asia nations to ensure successful activation of our ecosystem.”
Tridbodi Arunanondchai, Lightnet’s vice-chairman, said: “It’s vital that we build an ecosystem to provide Lightnet access to our partners’ vast user base and facilitate deeper penetration into local markets. We project that within three years, Lightnet will facilitate over $50 billion worth of annual transactions through our industry- leading partner network.”
Earlier this month, Washington D.C-based blockchain services firm Securrency secured $17.65m in series A funding round led by New York-based WisdomTree Investments as a strategic investor. By investing and collaborating with Securrency, WisdomTree is planning to integrate its blockchain technology into the exchange-traded fund (ETF) ecosystem to bring the benefits of ETFs to a wider range of investors and improve the investor experience. Last December, New York-based blockchain as a service (BaaS) solution provider Horizon raised $5m in its series A fundraiser to further enhance the operations of its proprietary technology.
Interested in hearing more in person? Find out more at the Blockchain Expo World Series, Global, Europe and North America.
