What You Need to Know:
- Raise has secured $63 million in a funding round led by Haun Ventures.
- The company aims to advance its blockchain-based Smart Cards program.
- A new Board of Directors has been established, featuring former executives from Kraken, Honey, and GrubHub.
Raise, a company backed by PayPal that focuses on digital gift cards and loyalty solutions, has completed a funding round amounting to $63 million; this funding will enhance their blockchain-supported Smart Cards and further the initiatives of the Retail Alliance Foundation, which aims to secure and modernize the global gift card network. Notable participants in this round included companies like Amber Group, Anagram, and GSR. This funding brings Raise’s total to over $220 million.
The company plans to transform gift cards into a “fully programmable retail currency” to bolster brand loyalty. “This isn’t merely a response to market trends – it’s the culmination of years filled with investments, research, and building the infrastructure to realize a completely on-chain, programmable retail currency,” stated the platform’s founder, George Bousis.
He added, “The crypto sector requires genuine utility now more than ever. Investors are searching for substance over speculation, while consumers are exhausted by unfulfilled promises.”
Bousis emphasized the decade spent investigating how blockchain can engender significant changes in the multi-trillion-dollar gift card market.
With this funding round, Raise also made headlines with its new board, which comprises notable industry figures such as Marco Santori from Kraken, George Ruan from Honey, Matt Maloney from GrubHub, and Bjorn Wagner from Parity Technologies, each bringing a wealth of knowledge from fintech, cryptocurrency, and e-commerce.
