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dtcpay Welcomes SBI Group as Strategic Investor, Extending Series A to US$25M

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SINGAPORE, Sept. 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — dtcpay, a Major Payment Institution headquartered in Singapore, today announced the completion of its US$25 million Series A funding round. The round was led by Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India in April 2026. It is now further anchored by Japan’s leading financial conglomerate, SBI Group, which is investing both through its subsidiary, SBI Ventures Asset Pte Ltd, and through the SBI-NTU-Kyobo Digital Innovation Fund. The round also drew participation from Genedant Capital and existing investor, Mr. Kwee Liong Tek, a prominent Singaporean business leader.

The investment reflects institutional confidence in dtcpay‘s vision of making stablecoins as seamless and accessible as traditional financial services.

Modern Payment Rails for a Digital Economy

Founded by Alice Liu and Band Zhao, dtcpay bridges digital assets with traditional finance through infrastructure that enables businesses and individuals to accept, store, and transact in stablecoins. Its real-time swap engine delivers seamless settlement across stablecoin and fiat currencies, eliminating the operational friction that has slowed mainstream adoption of digital assets. Where traditional cross-border transfers via SWIFT and correspondent banking networks are often slowed by multi-day settlement cycles and layered intermediary fees, dtcpay settles transactions seamlessly, at a fraction of the cost.

dtcpay’s growth has been marked by a series of early moves in the stablecoin payments space. The company launched a Digital Payment Token (DPT) point-of-sale acceptance solution enabling merchants to accept stablecoin payments directly in-store. It also was an early player in Asia to integrate with WalletConnect, extending stablecoin acceptance across more than 700 wallets used by millions of consumers globally. On the consumer side, its partnership with Visa introduced an early stablecoin-to-fiat Visa Infinite card for its customers in the region. The dtcpay Visa card now enables multi-currency spend across both fiat and stablecoins at more than 150 million merchant locations worldwide.

Beyond product innovation, dtcpay was also quick to bring stablecoins to real-world commerce use cases, partnering with BNB Chain to accelerate practical stablecoin adoption and enabling Metro to become the first department store in Singapore to accept stablecoin payments, alongside select hospitality partners such as Capella Singapore.

This additional fundraise enables dtcpay to maintain its pace of execution, scaling its product suite and merchant network while extending its lead in stablecoin payments. It continues to invest in its product roadmap through the remaining half of 2026, including a revamped business portal for enterprise clients and a series of new consumer-friendly features rolled out within the dtcpay app.

As a MAS-licensed Major Payment Institution in Singapore, and one of the select few digital payment companies to hold an Electronic Money Institution license in Luxembourg, dtcpay has built a regulatory foundation required to operate across Singapore, Europe, and other strategically important markets. This regulatory-first approach also underpins the reliability of dtcpay’s infrastructure, enabling institutional clients to transact with the assurance of a fully licensed financial institution.

dtcpay’s execution and regulatory leadership has drawn industry recognition, including Disruptor of the Year and Fintech of the Year at the 2025 Asia Fintech Awards, and Fintech Mentor of the Year for Alice Liu at the SFF FinTech Excellence Awards in 2025. Collectively, these achievements highlight dtcpay’s ability to execute at the intersection of innovation, regulation, and commercial adoption.

Strategic Capital to Fuel Global Expansion

The completion of the Series A brings together a diverse group of investors whose collective expertise spans traditional finance, fintech infrastructure, and global market expansion. Beyond capital, these investors contribute strategic network and domain expertise that will help support the company’s next phase of growth.

Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India, part of Vertex Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary of Temasek Holdings, led the initial tranche of the round. In addition to capital, Vertex brings extensive experience scaling technology companies, providing valuable strategic guidance rooted in deep Southeast Asian market expertise.

SBI Group adds a compelling financial service and fintech pedigree to the shareholder base. As one of Japan’s largest financial services groups, SBI operates across banking, securities, insurance, asset management, and digital assets. It has also been among the most active institutional investors in fintech and digital asset infrastructure globally.

Completing the investor group is Genedant Capital, a Singapore-based fund management firm licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore with over USD 2 billion in assets under management and advisory, and existing investor, Mr. Kwee Liong Tek. Genedant Capital brings in a network of family offices, private wealth investors and institutional relationships across Asia, strengthening access to strategic capital as dtcpay scales internationally. Mr. Kwee continues to increase his commitment, reflecting his long-term conviction in the company’s vision of bringing regulated digital payment infrastructure to global markets.

“We did not raise this round to sustain what we have built. We raised it to fundamentally change how money moves across borders. SBI Group has spent decades shaping financial infrastructure across Japan and beyond, from banking and securities to blockchain and digital assets, and their conviction in dtcpay is validation that compliant, real-world stablecoin payments are not a distant vision but an infrastructure being built right now. Combined with the enduring trust of Mr. Kwee and the support of Genedant Capital, we have the capital, the network, and the momentum to move into every market that is ready for this change. And we are just getting started.” said Alice Liu, Founder and CEO of dtcpay.

“The next chapter for dtcpay is about scale. We are strengthening our infrastructure, deepening partnerships with global financial institutions, and expanding into new regulated markets to make stablecoin payments as seamless and trusted as traditional payment rails. With the backing of our investors, we are accelerating our mission to build the financial infrastructure that enables businesses and consumers to move value globally, instantly, and compliantly,” said Band Zhao, Group Chairman of dtcpay.

“dtcpay has made decisive progress in establishing itself as the region’s leading regulated payment infrastructure that bridges traditional payments and stablecoins. Beyond execution, we were impressed by its licensing-led foundation, strong user experience, and comprehensive product offerings for financial institutions, corporates, and individuals. For SBI Group, which is steadily expanding its business footprint across Singapore and Southeast Asia, this investment marks the beginning of a strategic partnership with dtcpay. It also reflects our broader view to expand the global corridor for digital asset origination between Japan and Southeast Asia through trusted, regulated digital financial infrastructure,” commented Eiichiro So, CEO of SBI Ven Capital.

“dtcpay is building the regulated infrastructure that will bring stablecoin payments into everyday commerce.” said Quek How Jiang, CEO of Genedant Capital. “Beyond capital, we look forward to leveraging our network of strategic investors, industry leaders and institutional relationships to support the company’s commercial expansion and international growth.”

About dtcpay

dtcpay is a Singapore-headquartered payment services company building a globally licensed payment network that delivers seamless settlement, competitive pricing, and innovative payment solutions — Tomorrow’s Payments, Today. Licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and holding an Electronic Money Institution licence in Luxembourg, dtcpay is authorised to deliver regulated payment services across the European Economic Area. The company also holds licences and registrations in Hong Kong, Australia, the United States, and Canada, bridging digital assets with traditional finance for businesses and individuals across its licensed jurisdictions.

To learn more, please visit https://dtcpay.com/.

About SBI Group

Founded in 1999, the SBI Group is a comprehensive financial services group and a pioneer of internet-based financial services in Japan, operating across securities, banking and insurance. Beyond these, the Group is also active in asset management, private equity, crypto-assets, and next-generation businesses on a global scale.

Its MAS-regulated Singapore subsidiary, SBI Ven Capital, manages the SBI-NTU-Kyobo Digital Innovation Fund, launched in 2022 to invest in early-stage digital transformation and digital platform companies across Southeast Asia. The fund was established by the SBI Group with NTUitive (a subsidiary of Nanyang Technological University), and Kyobo Securities (a subsidiary of the Kyobo Life Insurance Group), drawing on the partners’ combined business expertise and ecosystems to back the region’s next generation of globally competitive companies.

To learn more, please visit: https://www.sbivencapital.com.sg

About Genedant Capital

Genedant Capital is a Singapore-based fund management firm licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The firm partners with accredited investors, including family offices and private wealth individuals, through a multi-strategy platform spanning private equity, venture capital, public markets, and bespoke investment solutions.

With over USD 2 billion in assets under management and advisory, Genedant Capital combines disciplined investment research, institutional risk management, and deep sector expertise across areas including deep tech, healthcare, biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and digital infrastructure. The firm seeks to deliver long-term, risk-adjusted returns while supporting high-quality managers and companies with strong growth potential across global markets.

To learn more, please visit https://genedant.com/.

Media Contact: dtcpay marketing team, marketing@dtcpay.com

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SOURCE dtcpay

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DapuStor to Showcase AI Storage Innovations with Global Infrastructure Partners at Tech Week Singapore 2026

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SINGAPORE, Sept. 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — DapuStor, an enterprise storage solutions provider, will showcase its latest enterprise SSD technologies alongside four global AI infrastructure partners at Tech Week Singapore 2026, taking place September 29–30 at Marina Bay Sands.

Under the theme “Powering AI Infrastructure Together,” DapuStor will demonstrate how enterprise storage works with data platforms, compute infrastructure, and AI applications to support increasingly data-intensive AI workloads.

The showcase will feature DapuStor’s latest enterprise SSD portfolio, including the 512TB R6060 E2 QLC SSD, J5060 SLC/QLC mixed-mode SSD, R6 liquid-cooled E1.S SSD, and J5 M.2 boot drive SSD. Designed for evolving AI training and inference requirements, the portfolio addresses growing dataset sizes, thermal constraints, storage density, and infrastructure efficiency.

DapuStor will also present a series of joint AI infrastructure showcases with its partners. Together with DDN (DataDirect Networks), DapuStor will demonstrate high-performance enterprise TLC SSDs supporting AI data platforms including DDN Infinia, EXAScaler, and X3M, with a focus on efficient data access and movement at scale.

With Ubitus, DapuStor will showcase an integrated AI infrastructure solution combining scalable GPU computing with enterprise storage for AI training and inference. Together with ExponTech, DapuStor will highlight AI-oriented storage for KV Cache, RAG, training, and inference workloads.

DapuStor will also showcase enterprise NVMe storage alongside platforms from a leading global server technology provider, highlighting scalable compute and storage infrastructure for AI and cloud deployments.

Beyond the exhibition, DapuStor will participate in two conference sessions. On September 29 at 3:35 p.m. SGT, John Li, VP of Marketing and Operations at DapuStor, will join the panel “AI Sovereignty in Asia Pacific – Navigating Strategy, Policy, and Control.”

On September 30 at 12:45 p.m. SGT, DapuStor and DDN will jointly present “Powering AI Infrastructure with High-Performance Storage” at the Cloud & AI Infrastructure Keynote Theatre, sharing perspectives on scalable, production-ready AI infrastructure.

Visitors can meet DapuStor and explore the joint showcases at Booth 5-I45, Level 5, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore, September 29–30.

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SOURCE DapuStor

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Xinhua Finance: Robotics Contest Highlights Chongqing District’s Push Into Embodied AI

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National competition in Shapingba District draws more than 100 teams developing robotics technologies for real-world deployment

CHONGQING, China, Sept. 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — A national robotics competition held this month in Chongqing offered a look at China’s efforts to move embodied artificial intelligence out of research laboratories and into commercial use.

The finals of the 11th “Maker in China” SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Contest for Intelligent Biomimetic Robots concluded Sept. 11 in Chongqing’s Shapingba District. The three-day national competition drew more than 100 teams from across China, with projects spanning biomimetic robotics, industrial automation and AI systems designed to perceive and interact with the physical world. 

Alongside the competition, organizers arranged meetings involving companies, universities and research institutions, as well as discussions aimed at technology transfer, financing and local deployment. The event formed part of a national program intended to support innovative SMEs with specialized technologies. Its theme was “Pushing Tech Frontiers, Unleashing Creativity.”

The competition comprised 13 tracks, covering work ranging from foundational research to systems approaching commercial deployment. Teams in the startup category competed in three broad areas: cutting-edge technologies, core enabling technologies and specialized applications. Their projects focused in part on the hardware, software and control systems underpinning the next generation of robots.

Teams in the enterprise category, by contrast, tested systems designed for real-world use in the electric power, healthcare and service sectors. The emphasis was on whether the technologies could perform reliably in operating environments and be scaled for broader deployment.

Many of the entries targeted technical bottlenecks that have limited the wider deployment of robotic systems. Projects included multi-robot coordination and task-scheduling systems for warehouses; assistive exoskeletons for older adults and rehabilitation patients; biomimetic robots for inspecting electric power infrastructure; miniature hummingbird-inspired flapping-wing drones; and robots capable of folding clothing autonomously. Together, the projects illustrated the range of engineering approaches Chinese developers are pursuing as they seek practical applications for embodied AI.

The competition also served as a venue for financing and business-development discussions, and several participating projects announced plans to establish operations in Shapingba. At the closing ceremony, the Shapingba District government signed letters of intent with SIASUN Robot & Automation Co., Ltd. and Chentu Technology, among other companies. ZTE also signed letters of intent with teams from Zhejiang University and Xi’an Jiaotong University.

Shapingba is seeking to establish itself as a center for embodied AI within Chongqing’s broader robotics supply chain. The value of the district’s robotics output rose 233% from a year earlier during the first seven months of 2026, according to local government data.

 

 

 

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SOURCE Xinhua Finance

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Peoplevine Secures Multi-Million-Dollar Growth Investment to Accelerate AI-Powered Hospitality

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Investment from Recurring Capital Partners will accelerate Peoplevine’s AI roadmap, payments infrastructure and global expansion across private clubs and luxury hospitality.

CHICAGO, Sept. 18, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Peoplevine, the Guest & Member Experience CRM for hospitality, today announced a multi-million-dollar growth capital investment from Recurring Capital Partners (RCP). The investment will accelerate Peoplevine’s AI-driven product roadmap, payments infrastructure and continued global expansion across private clubs and luxury hospitality.

“Hospitality has always been about remembering people, who they are, what they value and what makes them feel known. AI gives us an entirely new way to unlock it.” Boren Novakovic, CEO, Peoplevine

For hospitality operators in more than 20 countries, Peoplevine helps deepen guest and member relationships through a living profile, connecting identity, membership, preferences, payments, reservations, visits and experiences to make hospitality more personal.

Peoplevine is investing in AI capabilities designed to make the depth of guest and member context within its platform dramatically easier for operators to surface, understand and act on, turning the living profile into intelligence, personalization and action.

“Hospitality has always been about remembering people, who they are, what they value and what makes them feel known,” said Boren Novakovic, CEO of Peoplevine. “For more than 12 years, our technology has helped clients build those relationships, and the living profile gives operators that memory at scale. AI gives us an entirely new way to unlock it. This investment allows us to accelerate that vision and help our customers create more personal, more intelligent hospitality around the world.”

Peoplevine’s Guest & Member Experience CRM helps private clubs, hotels, resorts, stadiums, restaurants and other membership-driven hospitality operators manage the guest and member relationship across its lifecycle.

“The opportunity isn’t simply to add AI features to the interface,” said Jordan Gilman, CTO and Co-Founder of Peoplevine. “It’s to make the depth already inside Peoplevine more accessible and actionable. When intelligence can securely reason across the living profile, operators can move from searching for information to understanding what matters, identifying opportunities and taking action. We’re building toward a system of identity and intelligence that puts the full context of the guest and member relationship to work.”

The investment will also support Peoplevine’s continued international expansion, extending the company’s platform and support capabilities to private clubs and luxury hospitality operators in new global markets.

“Peoplevine has a proven track record of driving growth through innovation in the private club and hospitality market,” said Brian Henley, Managing Partner at Recurring Capital Partners. “Peoplevine is exactly the kind of high-growth, capital-efficient company we’re excited to support, led by a proven management team. We look forward to fueling their continued success and innovation.”

About Peoplevine

Peoplevine is the Guest & Member Experience CRM for hospitality, purpose-built for private clubs, hotels, resorts, stadiums, restaurants and other membership-driven hospitality businesses.

Peoplevine helps operators acquire, check in, engage, retain and grow guest and member relationships through a connected living profile that brings together identity, membership, engagement, transactions and experiences.

For more than 12 years, Peoplevine has helped hospitality businesses create more connected and personalized experiences and today serves customers across 20 countries.

Peoplevine integrates with leading hospitality platforms across property management, point of sale, reservations, payments and other critical systems.

For more information, visit Peoplevine.com.

About Recurring Capital Partners

Recurring Capital Partners provides growth capital to SaaS technology companies. Combining deep operating experience with startup finance expertise, the firm partners with founders and management teams to accelerate growth, manage business and personal risk, and help capital-efficient software businesses scale.

Media Contact

Chris Lindsey, Peoplevine, 1 7734160841, chris@peoplevine.com, www.peoplevine.com

View original content:https://www.prweb.com/releases/peoplevine-secures-multi-million-dollar-growth-investment-to-accelerate-ai-powered-hospitality-302883594.html

SOURCE Peoplevine

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