Hi Inc
Next-generation travel company that empowers people to experience all the world has to offer through an integrated technology platform.
| Date | Investors | Amount | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| N/A | €0.0 | round | |
| investor | €0.0 | round | |
| investor investor investor | €0.0 | round | |
| N/A | N/A | Early VC | |
| Total Funding | 000k | ||
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Hi Inc. operates as a financial technology company leveraging blockchain to build a crypto and fiat mobile application. The company is a pivot from its predecessor, Tink Labs, which was founded in 2012 by Terence Kwok, a University of Chicago dropout. Kwok's initial idea for Tink Labs stemmed from a personal pain point: receiving a $900 roaming bill after a trip. The company first attempted to rent smartphones to tourists at Hong Kong International Airport but found the model unscalable.
Pivoting, Tink Labs began offering hotels a service called "Handy," which were in-room smartphones for guests to use for free, providing internet access, calls, and city guides. This model aimed to solve traveler connectivity issues while allowing hotels to upsell amenities, reportedly increasing guest spending by 20-30%. The business saw rapid expansion, backed by investors like Foxconn, Sinovation Ventures, and Cai Wensheng, eventually reaching a valuation of over $1 billion. At its zenith, Handy devices were in over 600,000 hotel rooms across 82 countries, serving major chains like Hyatt and InterContinental.
However, this aggressive growth was not matched by sustainable profits, leading to financial instability and mismanagement. The company's core value proposition was eroded by the global decrease in roaming charges and the rise of eSIM technology, making the Handy phone less essential. By mid-2019, Tink Labs began ceasing operations in numerous markets and conducted mass layoffs, ultimately shutting down in 2020 due to its flawed business model and liquidity problems. Following the collapse, the company's website began redirecting to Hi Inc. The new entity, hi, was co-founded by Sean Rach, former CMO of Crypto.com, and focuses on combining a crypto exchange with a digital banking platform. The platform's native cryptocurrency, HI, functions as a membership token that provides holders with benefits like improved interest rates and travel perks.
Keywords: crypto finance, mobile banking, blockchain technology, digital wallet, cryptocurrency exchange, fiat services, HI token, Tink Labs, Terence Kwok, Sean Rach, travel technology, hotel amenities, guest services, Handy smartphone, venture capital, startup failure, business pivot, roaming solutions, hospitality tech, Web3 gateway, decentralized finance