Smart shopping assistant, which has increased its customer base to 200,000 in less than 18 months, helps consumers maximize the value of every dollar they spend

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / May 17, 2024 / Kudos, the AI-powered smart wallet that automatically maximizes consumer rewards and benefits on every purchase, today announced it has completed a $10.2 million Series A fundraising round. The oversubscribed round was led by QED Investors, a previous investor in the company. Additional participants included returning investor Patron, as well as The Points Guy founder Brian Kelly, Samsung Next, SV Angel, Precursor Ventures, The Mini Fund, Newtype Ventures and the Four Cities Fund. Kudos intends to use some of the funding to roll out various new services that will augment its quickly evolving smart wallet product.

"Consumers want to know they're getting the most for their money as they juggle budgets, multiple credit cards and rewards systems that can be confusing. Kudos simplifies all of that with one easy-to-use app and extension. We're proud that both QED Investors and Patron returned to participate in this round, signaling their confidence in our current growth and future plans," said Tikue Anazodo, co-founder and CEO of Kudos. "This latest investment allows us to continue expanding our services to more consumers and merchants."

Kudos acts as a comprehensive smart wallet assistant for consumers. It can recommend or automatically select the best credit card for them to use when paying to maximize their rewards and cash back. Recently, the company launched several new features, including MariaGPT, an AI-powered card discovery tool with over 3,000 cards currently in its database; Dream Wallet, which automatically recommends cards that fill gaps in a member's wallet based on their spending habits; and Kudos Boost, which delivers personalized rewards that augment card rewards across over 15,000 partner brands, including Walmart and Sephora.

"Kudos is using AI to finally unlock the promise of 'self-driving money.' Unlike traditional personal finance apps, their 'always-on' approach delivers value to consumers, merchants and card issuers, without requiring a change in behavior. Kudos gives consumers the ultimate peace of mind as they shop," said Amias Gerety, partner at QED Investors and the newest member of Kudos' board of directors. "The team has executed with incredible discipline and pace and we're excited to help them build one of the next iconic fintech brands."

Since its seed funding round, Kudos has grown its member base to over 200,000 registered users and increased its annualized checkout Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) to $200 million. With the funding, Kudos plans to unlock more growth via the launch of several new products and services. These include an AI-powered hub providing spend optimization insights, the expansion of MariaGPT into a general-purpose personal finance assistant and a portal allowing members to book flights with points-all without leaving Kudos.

"As Kudos' first venture investor, we were drawn to how they were building for an existing passionate community of credit card optimizers, aiming to create a more elegant product that broadened smart shopping to a wider audience. Given their early and accelerating traction, it was an obvious decision to continue backing Tikue and team as they looked to further scale their business," said Jason Yeh, co-founder and general partner at Patron. "We are very excited about the massive audience and business Kudos can grow to in the near future."

Founded in 2021 by a team with experience from Google, PayPal and Affirm, Kudos is available through either a browser extension (compatible with Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge and Safari) or as an app available in the Apple App Store. For more information and to get started, please visit Kudos' website.

About Kudos

Founded in 2021 and featured on Forbes' 2024 Fintech 50 list, Kudos is an AI-powered smart wallet trusted by over 200,000 members. The platform automates financial decisions by choosing the best payment method at checkout, tailoring credit card recommendations to individual spending habits, and delivering actionable insights that boost earnings and savings. Kudos simplifies the complex realm of personal finance, integrating seamlessly into the daily routines of its members while upholding rigorous security and privacy standards.

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SOURCE: Kudos