Next Payments

Next Payments Inc., founded in 2019 by CEO Gwang-cheol Ji, is a retail technology company focused on the digital transformation of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in South Korea. The firm provides an integrated suite of smart store solutions designed to enhance operational efficiency and customer engagement for offline merchants. Its core business revolves around offering AI-powered tools that analyze store data to provide actionable insights for optimizing sales, marketing, and management.

The company's product lineup is a comprehensive ecosystem for modern retail operations. It includes the 'Next Order' solution, which unifies various ordering channels such as kiosks, table orders, and delivery apps into a single POS interface. This is complemented by 'Next Kiosk', an AI-driven kiosk that can offer personalized menu recommendations based on customer analytics. Other offerings include 'Next Signage' for digital menus and advertising, and 'Next Cobot', which utilizes AI and collaborative robots for services like unmanned cafes. All these solutions are interconnected via a cloud-based service, allowing for centralized data collection and analysis.

Next Payments operates on a B2B model, targeting small business owners and self-employed merchants. Its revenue is generated through the provision of these smart store technologies. The company has been an active participant in the 'Smart Store Technology Supply Project' by the Korean Ministry of SMEs and Startups, supporting the digital transition of thousands of local businesses. A significant milestone was its selection as a collaborator by OpenAI in March 2024, enabling it to enhance its 'Next AI Assistant' with advanced API capabilities for tasks like new menu development and sales forecasting. This collaboration underscores the company's focus on integrating sophisticated AI to make high-level technology accessible and affordable for smaller retailers.

Financially, Next Payments has demonstrated steady growth, securing a pre-A funding round in December 2022 from New Paradigm Investment. This was followed by a substantial 4.25 billion won (approximately $3.11M USD) in a Series A funding round in May 2024, led by Envester and including follow-on investment from New Paradigm. The company plans to use these funds for global expansion, with a focus on North American and Japanese markets, and is preparing for a Proof of Concept (POC) in the U.S. and Canada.

Keywords: retail tech, smart store solutions, AI analytics, small business digitalization, POS integration, kiosk technology, digital signage, restaurant automation, order management system, cloud-based retail, Gwang-cheol Ji, AI retail assistant, unmanned store solutions, offline data analysis, Korean retail market, SMB technology, AI-powered marketing, robotic process automation, food tech, customer behavior analysis, retail data mining