CHAI raises USD 45 mln Series B+ funding round

SBVA and Nyca Partners co-led the USD 45 million round, with additional participation by investors such as KT Investment, Conductive Ventures, Nordstar Capital, Samsung NEXT, and B Capital. CHAI will use this funding to expand its footprint in Southeast Asia and develop a fully automated end-to-end payment infrastructure for digital merchants throughout Asia.

The rise of the digital economy and the COVID-19 pandemic have accelerated digital payment adoption among both consumers and merchants. Real-time payment transactions soared by 41% worldwide in 2020, and within Southeast Asia, the gross merchandise value (GMV) of online transactions is expected to hit USD 1 trillion by 2030. However, the payment landscape in the region remains highly fragmented, which poses a barrier to widespread adoption due to integration and management complexities – especially among small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). 

Founded in 2019, CHAI aims to bridge the payments gap in Asian markets by providing a payment orchestration solution for local merchants through a single application programming interface (API). Through CHAI Port, merchants can activate and offer over 30 payment options such as credit cards, digital wallets, bank transfers, and cross-border payments to their customers. They can also optimise the checkout experience for improved conversion rates and obtain a real-time analysis of their entire payment flow from multiple payment methods.