Ascend Money, a Thailand-based financial technology startup, recently announced that the company has raised $150 million in an investment round. The  Fintech  Fintech Financial Technology (fintech) is defined as ay technology that is geared towards automating and enhancing the delivery and application of financial services. The origin of the term fintechs can be traced back to the 1990s where it was primarily used as a back-end system technology for renowned financial institutions. However, it has since grown outside the business sector with an increased focus upon consumer services.What Purpose Do Fintechs Serve?The main purpose of fintechs would be to supply a technological service that not only simplifies but also aids consumers, business operators, and networks.This is done by optimizing business processes and financial operations through the implementation of specialized software, algorithms, and automated computing processes. Transitioning from the roots of the financial sector, fintech providers can be found through a multitude of industries such as retail banking, education, cryptocurrencies, insurance, nonprofit, and more. While fintechs cover a vast array of business sectors, it can be broken down into four classifications which are as followed: Business-to-business for banks, Business-to-business for banking business clients, business-to-consumers for small businesses, and consumers. More recently, fintechs presence has become increasingly apparent within the trading sector, primarily for cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.The creation and use of Bitcoin can also be contributed to innovations brought upon by fintechs while smart contracts through blockchain technology have simplified and automated contracts between buyers and sellers. As a whole, fintechs applications are growing more diverse with a consumer-centric focus while its applications continue to innovate the trading and cryptocurrency sectors through automated technologies and business practices. Financial Technology (fintech) is defined as ay technology that is geared towards automating and enhancing the delivery and application of financial services. The origin of the term fintechs can be traced back to the 1990s where it was primarily used as a back-end system technology for renowned financial institutions. However, it has since grown outside the business sector with an increased focus upon consumer services.What Purpose Do Fintechs Serve?The main purpose of fintechs would be to supply a technological service that not only simplifies but also aids consumers, business operators, and networks.This is done by optimizing business processes and financial operations through the implementation of specialized software, algorithms, and automated computing processes. Transitioning from the roots of the financial sector, fintech providers can be found through a multitude of industries such as retail banking, education, cryptocurrencies, insurance, nonprofit, and more. While fintechs cover a vast array of business sectors, it can be broken down into four classifications which are as followed: Business-to-business for banks, Business-to-business for banking business clients, business-to-consumers for small businesses, and consumers. More recently, fintechs presence has become increasingly apparent within the trading sector, primarily for cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.The creation and use of Bitcoin can also be contributed to innovations brought upon by fintechs while smart contracts through blockchain technology have simplified and automated contracts between buyers and sellers. As a whole, fintechs applications are growing more diverse with a consumer-centric focus while its applications continue to innovate the trading and cryptocurrency sectors through automated technologies and business practices. Read this Term company received a valuation of $1.5 billion.

The recent valuation makes Ascend Money Thailand’s first fintech  Unicorn  Unicorn Unicorns represent privately held startup companies whose value exceeds $1 billion. The term itself was coined by venture capitalist Aileen Lee back in 2013, with Unicorns since assuming the gold standard of companies.At the time of writing, approximately 465 unicorns exist, with standouts becoming ubiquitous in everyday life. This includes Ant Financial, DiDi, Airbnb, Stripe, Lyft, and Palantir Technologies, among many others.While all wildly successful, many unicorns are themselves the products of company buyouts, given its existing designation.For example, many of these companies’ valuation has swelled due to buyouts from large public companies. This has proven to be a recursive trend in with major industry players such as Apple, Facebook, and Google focusing on acquisitions rather than capital expenditures and development of internal investment projects.This strategy has played out over the past few years with large companies opting to instead augment their own technology portfolio via buyouts, rather than in-house developments.Unicorns Benefitting from New TechnologyOf note, many unicorns have succeeded without launching their own Initial Product Offering (IPOs), which run multiple risks. Traditionally, many large brands and companies have relied on such stock offerings as a means to bolster valuation and raise money. However, IPOs can result in the evaluation of a company if the public market thinks a company is worth less than its investor base.Unicorns also have benefitted from other factors, including the availability of new technology. Social media in this sense has been an integral component to unicorns’ success, helping achieve economies of scale.Furthermore, the advent of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) technology, platforms, and cloud computing has also played a key role in the growth of unicorns. Unicorns represent privately held startup companies whose value exceeds $1 billion. The term itself was coined by venture capitalist Aileen Lee back in 2013, with Unicorns since assuming the gold standard of companies.At the time of writing, approximately 465 unicorns exist, with standouts becoming ubiquitous in everyday life. This includes Ant Financial, DiDi, Airbnb, Stripe, Lyft, and Palantir Technologies, among many others.While all wildly successful, many unicorns are themselves the products of company buyouts, given its existing designation.For example, many of these companies’ valuation has swelled due to buyouts from large public companies. This has proven to be a recursive trend in with major industry players such as Apple, Facebook, and Google focusing on acquisitions rather than capital expenditures and development of internal investment projects.This strategy has played out over the past few years with large companies opting to instead augment their own technology portfolio via buyouts, rather than in-house developments.Unicorns Benefitting from New TechnologyOf note, many unicorns have succeeded without launching their own Initial Product Offering (IPOs), which run multiple risks. Traditionally, many large brands and companies have relied on such stock offerings as a means to bolster valuation and raise money. However, IPOs can result in the evaluation of a company if the public market thinks a company is worth less than its investor base.Unicorns also have benefitted from other factors, including the availability of new technology. Social media in this sense has been an integral component to unicorns’ success, helping achieve economies of scale.Furthermore, the advent of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) technology, platforms, and cloud computing has also played a key role in the growth of unicorns. Read this Term. Bow Wave Capital Management, the US-based investment firm, participated in the latest investment round and joined Charoen Pokphand Group and Ant Group.

Through the latest funding, Ascend Money is planning to expand the user base of its e-wallet application, TrueMoney Wallet. Additionally, the company aims to use the recent investment to enhance its digital financial services, including digital lending, digital investment and cross-border remittances across Southeast Asia.

Commenting on the investment round and valuation, Suphachai Chearavanont, Founder and Chairman of the Board of Ascend Money, said: “From the start, Ascend Money has been the purpose-led fintech company. The company is expanding the platform and services to help improve the accessibility, affordability and impact of financial services. In short, Ascend Money provides a financial platform of opportunity for those financially excluded as well as SMEs around the region.”

“It is a heartwarming mission for all involved. The company’s success is also a testament to Thailand’s capability and strong ecosystem to support domestic fintech firms and startups for overseas expansion,” Chearavanont added.

Thai Fintech Market

In 2021, several promising financial technology startups emerged from Thailand. While the country’s fintech ecosystem is still in the emerging phase, the recent unicorn announcement from Ascend Money will give the overall ecosystem a major boost. Founded in 2013, Ascend Money has a presence across six SEA countries including Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam. The company operates TrueMoney.

Itai Lemberger, Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Bow Wave Capital Management, commented: “The pandemic's disruptive effects have accelerated the growth of the digital economy across Southeast Asia. We’re proud to support Ascend Money on their mission-fulfilling journey to drive financial inclusiveness for sustainable growth of the region.”