Blockchain Startup Utop Revceives $3M USD Investment From FPT Corp. and SBI Holdings

Blockchain, Investing, News | April 22, 2019 By:

Japanese financial firm SBI Holdings and Vietnamese tech firm FPT Corporation have jointly invested $3 million in Utop, a Vietnamese startup that will link loyalty programs between merchants.

Utop, which was developed based on FPT’s enterprise blockchain platform akaChain, allows users to gain and redeem loyalty points at retailers within the same network, thereby enhancing customer experiences and enabling small businesses to grow faster.

“Through partnership with Utop, small businesses could link their reward programms with each other to reduce costs and keep data secure thanks to the multi-layered architecture of akaChain platform,” the release said. “Utop also ensures high liquidity for end users by allowing them to redeem points at any merchants within the network. It helps improve discount and reward programs and, at the same time, enhances customer experiences.”

Pham Nguyen Vu, Co-founder and Director of Utop, said that the platform has been tested in FPT’s minimum viable ecosystem as well as sectors such as retail, insurance, and finance since December 2018. Nguyen added that the funding from FPT and SBI will be a great boost to help Utop solidify its foundation and take bolder steps in the future.

FPT Chairman Dr. Truong Gia Binh believes that Utop would bring convenience and interesting shopping experiences for millions of Vietnamese consumers, which would contribute to the development of Vietnam’s digital economy.

“The majority of SBI’s companies in Vietnam are either invested in or jointly operated by FPT, through subsidiaries such as FPT Securities, Sendo, or TPBank,” said Yoshitaka Kitao, President and CEO of SBI. “Based on FPT’s enterprise blockchain platform akaChain, its technology capabilities, as well as its strong network of customers, I am completely confident that this is the best time to launch Utop. I hope it has lots of potential to grow.”