Neobank Cogni secures USD 23 mln for Web3 services

The mobile-based platform, founded in 2018 out of Barclays’ accelerator programme (which is operated by Techstars), launched with the intent to offer personalised banking products suited to the lifestyles of those in the 18-to-35 crowd, the company’s CEO and founder told TechCrunch.

The funding round was led by Hanwha Asset Management and CaplinFO. Solana Ventures, FTX Ventures, Ship Capital, Thirty Five Ventures, ROK Capital, Bluewatch Ventures, and Alsara Investment Group also participated in the fundraise. The company last raised a USD 1.7 million seed round in November 2018 before it officially launched, and subsequently raised a USD 5 million seed extension round in 2021, according to its CEO.

The company currently offers core banking services such as deposit accounts for free to its customers through a borrowed bank charter, such as other neobanks, including Chime, reportedly do. It also offers two lifestyle-oriented products – discounted digital gift cards to brands such as Adidas and Sephora that it sources through an aggregator and a feature that calculates a person’s carbon emissions based on their transactions. The company reportedly serves customers in the United States.

Cogni plans to launch a multi-chain wallet, which its CEO estimates will be released in approximately two to three months’ time (Summer 2022). The Cogni platform will also offer its users access to an exchange to trade their cryptocurrency through a partnership. The company has not yet decided if the wallet will be non-custodial, meaning users would hold and be able to access their own cryptocurrencies to transact directly. 

After launching the wallet, Cogni plans to offer DeFi savings accounts on the Solana blockchain with the goal of offering higher yields than traditional savings accounts, a typical feature of DeFi products in their current state. While the company hasn’t officially chosen a partner for this product, it is considering working with its DeFi-focused strategic investor Ship Capital, according to its CEO.

Cogni has 24 employees in New York and San Francisco, with another eight across Europe, according to the company’s leader. Cogni is focused on making new hires with a background in Web3, both on the product and engineering teams, and is also looking to increase its compliance team to prepare for the new product launches, TechCrunch concluded.