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AI All commerce Funding Startup News in Korea (Korean Startup News)

Next Payments Secures 4.25B KRW in Series A to Enhance AI Retail Solutions and Expand Globally

2024-05-24 3 min read

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Next Payments Secures 4.25B KRW in Series A to Enhance AI Retail Solutions and Expand Globally

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Next Payments, a Korean company specializing in AI-based smart retail tech solutions, has successfully secured 4.25 billion KRW in Series A funding. This investment round was led by NVESTOR and included new investors Korea Alternative Investment Corporation and Mirakle Lab, as well as follow-up investment from New Paradigm Investment, which had participated in the pre-Series A round.

Founded in 2019, Next Payments has rapidly grown in the domestic retail tech sector by developing smart store solutions for small business owners. The company supports the digital transformation of small businesses through participation in the smart store technology dissemination project led by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Small Enterprise and Market Service.

Next Payments focuses on developing AI solutions for the digital transformation of offline stores. The company analyzes in-store data, utilizing AI technology to enhance customer experience, maximize operational efficiency, and provide insights into customer behavior.

In March, Next Payments was selected as a collaborative startup by OpenAI. Since then, it has enhanced its NextAI Assistant solution using OpenAI’s API, accelerating the application of AI technology in the retail tech sector.

The company has garnered significant attention with the launch of the ‘AI Order Assistant,’ an AI conversational ordering platform for small business owners, and the ‘AI Store Management Assistant,’ which aids in store operations. These solutions enable customers to conveniently select and order from numerous menu items in stores through conversational interfaces.

Next Payments operates an Innovation Lab called ‘N#’ with various themes, fully utilizing these smart store solutions. This lab leads the application of AI technology in the retail tech sector, driving innovative changes.

Baek Sang-seung, Co-CEO of New Paradigm Investment, a follow-up investor, stated, “The global smart retail tech market is estimated to be worth $34.7 billion. With the expansion of the online and offline retail markets and accelerated digital transformation, it is expected to grow to approximately $102.5 billion by 2028. Next Payments is anticipated to achieve stable growth based on its differentiated technology. We will provide unwavering support to help Next Payments enhance its innovative retail technology for small business owners with advanced AI technology and make a leap into the global market.”

Jee Kwang-cheol, CEO of Next Payments, said, “This investment will be a crucial catalyst for Next Payments’ continuous innovation and global expansion. We plan to focus on developing core experiential technologies that assist the digital transformation of small business owners. By providing comprehensive ‘K-Smart Store’ retail tech solutions integrating data-driven AI, IoT, and robotics technology, we aim to maximize operational efficiency and customer satisfaction under the global ‘N#’ brand.”

With this funding, Next Payments plans to expand beyond the domestic market into the global arena. The company is strengthening strategic partnerships, particularly focusing on North America and Japan, and is conducting POCs (Proof of Concept) for market entry in Canada and the U.S. this September.
Currently, Next Payments has global partnerships with companies such as Samsung, LG, OpenAI, Microsoft, AWS, and Otter, preparing for a global leap in the retail tech sector.

[Korean Commerce Startup News]


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