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Xalts to acquire Contour Network to build 'Plaid for Trade'

Xalts to acquire Contour Network to build 'Plaid for Trade'

Accel and Citi Ventures-backed fintech Xalts has acquired Contour Network from a consortium of global banks, with the aim of to building a 'Plaid for Trade' supply chain network.

Contour was launched in 2017 by a consortium of eight banks in an attempt to break down barriers to international trade finance through the use of blockchain technology. The network currently counts over 22 banks and 100+ global businesses as clients.

The acquisition comes just months after Contour announced plans to wind down the business due to a lack of funding.

Singapore-based Xalts, which is used by institutions to build multi-party applications for digitisation and tokenization, says it plans to launch an application ecosystem for embedded trade finance solutions on top of Contour's rails.

Ashutosh Goel, CEO of Xalts comments: "We want to create a Plaid for Trade. Our 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. Combining our platform with Contour's Network will allow participants to develop and deploy customized solutions quickly."

The initial focus will be on embedded applications for trade and supply chain finance with the aim of enabling banks, logistics companies and technology companies to operate off a single platform.

"Our platform also enables institutions to build new innovative applications and products by leveraging blockchain and tokenization. We partner with leading blockchains and integrate with multiple infrastructure providers to help our clients build tokenization applications," says Supreet Kaur, COO of Xalts. "Contour will also enable network members to work with us to launch applications in this space."

Xalts was founded in 2022 by Ashutosh Goel and Supreet Kaur, former senior executives at HSBC and Meta. Currently with a team of over 50 across offices in Singapore, Hong Kong, India, UAE and UK, Xalts counts large financial institutions, regulatory bodies and technology companies as its clients.

The salvation of Contour comes after the closure of a raft of similar business propositions, including IBM's TradeLens project and the bank-backed Marco Polo Network and we.trade.

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