New Paradigm Investment backs Next Payments in pre-Series A round

New Paradigm Investment announced on the 26th that it had made a pre-Series A investment in NextPayments, a startup specializing in smart-store technology. The investment amount was not disclosed.

Founded in 2019, NextPayments develops and supplies smart-store solutions designed to maximize operational efficiency and increase sales for small-business owners and self-employed operators. The company also participates in the Ministry of SMEs and Startups’ Smart Store Technology Provider program, supporting smart-store operations for 7,037 small businesses nationwide.

“The government is also promoting smart-store technologies based on Fourth Industrial Revolution innovations, tailoring them to different industries as part of its support for small businesses,” said Park Je-hyun, CEO of New Paradigm Investment. “Selected as a smart-store technology provider, NextPayments continues to grow through B2G and B2B strategies, specializing in smart-store technologies tailored to individual small businesses. We expect it to establish itself as a leading smart-store technology company that significantly advances small businesses’ digital transformation through its specialized service development capabilities.”

He added, “We will provide comprehensive support for NextPayments, which was selected for this year’s final Baby Unicorn Growth Program, including recommending it for TIPS and co-investing in future funding rounds.”

One of NextPayments’ flagship contactless payment solutions is Next Order. It lets businesses manage reservations, orders, and payments from kiosks, tablet ordering, delivery apps, and smart-order systems on a single point-of-sale (POS) page. Next Kiosk, a contactless ordering and payment service with a payment system built into its touchscreen, can also help reduce labor costs.

The company also offers Next Signage, a digital menu board equipped with a digital signage management solution, and Next Cobot, which provides order and production management using AI collaborative robots as well as unmanned café operations. All the solutions can be integrated around Next Order and are developed and supplied to meet the needs of small businesses, with ongoing upgrades provided.

“Smart-store solutions such as kiosks and smart ordering are gaining attention as technologies that can ease hiring difficulties and labor-cost pressures for small businesses,” said Ji Gwang-cheol, CEO of NextPayments. “We will use this investment to accelerate technology upgrades for version 3.0 of our smart-store solutions and digital signage. We will help small businesses that adopt our technology become more competitive online and, over the long term, grow together with them while revitalizing neighborhood commercial districts.”