Cosmose AI, a nine-year-old AI analytics company that uses AI to track in-store foot traffic and engage with shoppers online, is now valued at $500 million following a strategic investment by Near Foundation, the non-profit arm of Near blockchain protocol. This partnership with Near allows customers to shop with cryptocurrency, promising low transaction fees and savings for buyers and sellers.
The founders’ idea was to help their customers make online payments cheaply, by replacing processing companies such as Stripe and PayPal, which charge over 10% for small transactions. An example is buying a cup of coffee at $5, which can be subject to a ratio of 6-10%, translating to an extra $200 a year. Through Near’s blockchain payment system, KaiKai, Cosmose claims to reduce transaction costs to just $4 per year, representing a 50 times lower rate than Stripe or PayPal.
KaiKai uses its native stablecoin Kai-Ching that is pegged to US dollars and is only sold within the app to prevent value volatility. Over half of Kai-Ching’s users are Gen-Z and they easily grasp the concept of cryptocurrency, as it is stored on-chain and owned by the users. Transactions are processed in the form of payments, refunds and rewards, and one-third of the payments are done in Kai-Ching.
Cosmose and Near are also working on a system to make user data more secure by migrating it to blockchain. This will grant users control of their data, instead of handing it to tech giants. This system consists of users storing their data on their phones with edge computing and make decisions about how to be tracked to receive more precise product recommendations and rewards.
Since its founding, Cosmose has reached over 20 million stores and 1 billion phones across the world, especially in China, with an 80-strong team spanning multiple countries such as Warsaw, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo and Paris.
Miron Mironiuk is the founder and CEO of Cosmose. He saw an opportunity to overhaul traditional payment systems and started this enterprise with an aim to reduce transaction costs. Mironiuk plans to expand Kai-Ching to other crypto-friendly jurisdictions in the future. He believes that the blockchain could be an answer to the high transaction costs and if everything is moved onto the blockchain, it could generate massive savings for buyers.
