Clear, the Singapore-based developer of a system for conducting high-volume transactions, has received $13m in series A funding from investors including telecommunications firms HKT, Telefónica, Singtel and Deutsche Telekom, TechCrunch has reported.
The round was led by Eight Road Ventures, a subsidiary of investment and financial services group Fidelity. Telefónica, Singtel and Deutsche Telekom took part through their Telefónica Innovation Ventures, Singtel Innov8 and Telekom Innovation Pool subsidiaries respectively.
Clear is working on a blockchain-powered, computerised ledger platform that will automatically settle the payment of financial contracts and transactions, technology known as a smart contract.
The system is intended to provide a secure and traceable channel for telecoms firms to exchange large payments with each other for services such as international roaming which are currently susceptible to human accounting errors.
The series A cash will go to product development, as the startup prepares to introduce smart telecoms contracts in the coming months with a view to then expanding into other industries.