Fintech start-up Xalts grants Contour Network new lease of life with announced acquisition
Singapore-based start-up Xalts is set to acquire Contour Network in an attempt to promote the adoption of digital technologies within trade and supply chain finance.
Xalts to acquire Contour Network
Since its inception back in 2017, Contour has operated a decentralised global trade finance network that connects businesses, partners and financiers across supply chains, and promoted an initial remit of digitising letters of credit.
Although backed by banks including ANZ, BNP Paribas, HSBC and Standard Chartered, the network announced in October 2023 that it was to wind down operations as a result of insufficient funding, while a source told Ledger Insights at the time that Contour was only processing 60 to 70 transactions a month.
With the sun quickly setting on a company that appeared to be ahead of its time, Contour has now seized a second chance with Xalts.
Xalts, which was founded in 2022 and operates a financial infrastructure platform with no-code applications and APIs that enable institutions to develop programmable assets for digitisation and tokenisation, says it plans to leverage its latest purchase to “accelerate digitisation in trade and supply chain finance”.
According to the start-up’s statement, its initial focus post-takeover will be on embedded solutions for trade and supply chain finance, which are hoped by Xalts to “enable banks, logistics companies and technology companies to offer integrated solutions to businesses, using a single platform”.
“We want to create a Plaid for Trade,” claims Ashutosh Goel, CEO of Xalts, who says the start-up’s vision is “to expand the scope of Contour’s network which is trusted by banks and corporates, and build it into a rail that enables businesses to access digital solutions for trade and supply chain finance offered by banks, fintechs and technology partners”.
The financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
