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Thai blockchain startup Lightnet has raised $31.2 million in Series A financing 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.
Lightnet said that it has become the first blockchain company in Asia to receive financial backing from six large conglomerates. The company aims to use the funds to strengthen its investment in the underlying blockchain technology on the Stellar Network and build a next-generation financial mobility network.
Chatchaval Jiaravanon, Lightnet’s chairman, said that the purpose behind launching Lightnet was to offer “low-cost and instantaneous financial inclusivity and mobility to the four billion lives across Asia Pacific.”
“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,” says Tridbodi Arunanondchai, Lightnet’s vice-chairman.
Powered by Stellar blockchain, Lightnet aims to disrupt a trillion U.S. dollar global remittance market. It said that its smart contracts and distributed ledgers are “well-positioned to replace the decades-old, inefficient SWIFT system and unreliable underground banking.”
Lightnet CEO Suvicha Sudchai revealed that the company is offering three 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,” Sudchai added.
