Banking platform Cogni secures $23m in Series A round

US-based lifestyle-focused digital banking platform Cogni has secured $23 million in a Series A funding round.

Cogni, which was founded in 2018, will use the proceeds to continue to develop core technology and infrastructure, as well as add new users to its platform and expand its range of products.

The Series A round was led by Hanwha Asset Management and CaplinFO, with participation from Solana Ventures, FTX Ventures, Ship Capital, Thirty Five Ventures, ROK Capital, Bluewatch Ventures and Alsara Investment Group.

In addition to providing free banking services, Cogni offers customers discounted digital gift cards and the ability to track carbon emissions based on their transactions.

It plans to build out its Web3 capabilities in the coming months, giving users access to a “more comprehensive and compatible” banking platform by offering a “multichain” wallet, as well as a high-yield savings account.

In time, the banking platform will create plug and play access to Web2 and Web3 services across traditional finance, crypto, NFTs, gaming and the metaverse.

Archie Ravishankar, CEO and founder of Cogni, said that his aim in building Cogni was to create a platform that was “relevant and relatable to the way people engaged with their lifestyle”.

“When I thought about my own needs, and those of the people around me and the way we interact with the world, I figured we needed to build a banking platform that aligned with those personalized needs, including this incredible migration into and at the intersection of the Web2 and Web3 spaces,” he said.

“Cogni is bridging the gap between Web2 and Web3 services by building a fully compliant, digital banking experience for mainstream user adoption. Cogni has built an incredibly impressive team and we are excited to support them as they execute on this vision,” added Matthew Beck, partner at Solana Ventures.