SINGAPORE, August 31, 2021 — Zipmex, a major and fast-growing contender for the title of Asia-Pacific’s leading digital assets platform, has announced Krungsri Finnovate Company Limited, Bank of Ayudhya PCL’s corporate venture capital arm as a milestone investor in its Series B fundraising. Plan B Media Public Company Limited and Master Ad Public Company Limited have also announced their involvement in the US$41M committed investment round.
In a regional and industry-first move, publicly traded multimedia companies, a major Thai bank and internationally renowned venture capital firms have pulled together to boost this startup further into orbit, a clear signal that digital assets have entered the mainstream in a major way.
The investment makes Bank of Ayudhya, part of the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), one of the first banks globally, and the first in Southeast Asia, to invest in a digital asset platform. The move puts the bank ahead of other large banks in the region who have recently made moves in the digital asset space – a fact which demonstrates increasing institutional buy-in to the space.
“This commitment from Krungsri Finnovate is a huge step forward for us. It represents not only the validation of our business model and approach to innovation, but also of the potential for digital assets to become a core part of our lifestyle,” said Zipmex CEO, Marcus Lim. “A marriage of digital assets and traditional banking can provide new innovative use cases for money, which we have demonstrated through ZipWorld. Further use cases of Zlaunch, and ZipNFT are just the starting point of where we can evolve to be banking forward, lifestyle focused.”
“Krungsri Finnovate places great importance on technology and financial innovation in every way. We believe that tech and innovation will be the driver of economical and society-focused solutions to the country’s future” states Mr. Sam Tanskul, Managing Director at Krungsri Finnovate.
This also marks the first time in Southeast Asia for listed multinational media companies to tap into the digital asset trend, which has the potential to transform the realm of financial landscape and lifestyle. Plan B Media is one of the largest and most innovative media companies in Thailand, which specialises in out-of-home media and engagement marketing, while Master Ad (MACO), is the media leader for billboards and street furniture with an extensive media footprint across SEA.