Rewards technology startup Bundle has raised $5.5 million in pre-seed financing to develop a platform that allows businesses to combine their customer-incentive budgets into shared reward pools.
Ethereal Ventures and Further Ventures led the round. Nascent, GSR, Scenius Capital, Anchorage Digital and Nuwa Capital also participated.
Bundle plans to use the funding for product development, strategic partnerships and its initial rollout in Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines. The company said more than 50 brands have joined the platform ahead of those launches, although it did not disclose their identities or specify whether their participation involved commercial contracts.
Pooling Brand Incentive Budgets
Bundle is built around the idea that several businesses can contribute to a common reward pool rather than each company operating a separate discount, cashback or loyalty campaign. Customers receive entries, which Bundle calls tickets, after completing actions specified by participating brands.
Those actions may include buying a product, registering for a service, referring another customer or completing an engagement task. Eligible participants are then entered into periodic draws funded collectively by the businesses using the platform.
Pooling budgets could give smaller companies access to larger prizes than they could finance independently. The model still requires participating businesses to fund customer acquisition activities, with results likely to vary based on customer participation, campaign design and compliance with local promotional rules.
Bundle says its service gives companies more predictable campaign costs while managing the rewards infrastructure and parts of the regulatory process. The platform currently advertises a flat fee of $2 per completed action, although pricing may vary as Bundle expands or enters into individual commercial agreements.
The model also differs from conventional points-based loyalty programs. Customers do not necessarily accumulate a balance that can be redeemed for a predetermined product or discount. Instead, eligible activity provides entries into shared prize pools, making the outcome less certain for individual users but potentially allowing the network to advertise larger rewards.
Blockchain Runs Behind the Consumer Experience
Bundle describes the service as a consumer-facing application supported by blockchain infrastructure, although users are not expected to manage cryptocurrency wallets or interact directly with blockchain networks.
The platform uses stablecoin payment infrastructure to distribute rewards. Withdrawals are intended to be processed through licensed payment service providers, providing customers with a more familiar payment experience while the settlement technology operates in the background.
Stablecoins are digital tokens designed to maintain a stable value relative to another asset, commonly the U.S. dollar. Their use may reduce some of the friction associated with sending rewards across borders, particularly when businesses and recipients operate in different markets.
The practical benefits will depend on the payment providers, blockchain networks and conversion arrangements Bundle uses in each country. Transaction costs, processing times and access to local currency withdrawals could differ across jurisdictions, while stablecoin and promotional-reward rules continue to vary between markets.
By keeping the blockchain components outside the main customer interface, Bundle is following a wider industry approach in which distributed-ledger infrastructure is treated as a settlement tool rather than the central consumer product. The company’s ability to maintain that separation could influence adoption among users who are unfamiliar with digital assets or reluctant to manage crypto-specific processes.
Pilot Campaigns Provide Early Data
Bundle said it tested its platform with five companies across five markets before announcing the funding round. The pilot reportedly distributed $100,000 among more than 1,100 winners, including one top prize of $50,000.
Participating brands recorded conversion increases of as much as four times compared with traditional incentive campaigns.
Its website provides additional information about one campaign involving video-streaming company Myco. Bundle says the campaign helped increase registrations from a baseline of 75,000 to 200,000 and raised average viewing time from 16 minutes to 37 minutes. The website attributes a 2.7-fold increase in registrations and a 2.3-fold increase in watch time to the campaign.
Bundle’s next phase will test whether similar performance can be reproduced across a larger and more diverse group of businesses. Expansion into three Southeast Asian markets will also require the company to manage differences in payments, consumer behavior, advertising standards and rules governing prize-based promotions.
The company was founded by Bader Al Kalooti and Mostafa Wanas. Al Kalooti previously held roles at Amazon and Binance, including serving as Binance’s head of the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia and Turkey region. Wanas is described by the company as a consumer technology entrepreneur.
Funding Supports Southeast Asian Launch
The $5.5 million round gives Bundle capital to build out its technology and establish partnerships before a wider commercial launch. The company has not disclosed its valuation, ownership terms, revenue, employee count or the amount contributed by each investor.
Ethereal Ventures Managing Partner Min Teo said: “The next wave of blockchain businesses like Bundle will drive mainstream consumer applications by feeling native to users and solving real problems. It is a perfect example that uses shared rewards and blockchain rails to help brands drive loyalty and customer growth at scale.”
Robbie Nakarmi, Partner at Further Ventures, added: “Through its innovative shared rewards network, Bundle now gives brands of all sizes access to larger rewards to drive higher conversions from their marketing campaigns at a fraction of the cost, creating a more effective way to engage customers. We’re excited to support the company as it expands across Asia and beyond to redefine how businesses approach incentives.”
Bundle enters a crowded customer-retention market that includes cashback services, airline and retail points programs, membership platforms and personalized promotions. Its shared-pool model offers a different structure, but its commercial viability will depend on whether participating businesses see measurable improvements after accounting for campaign fees and prize contributions.
Bundle’s planned launches in Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines will provide the first broader test of that proposition.
