On December 27, 2021, Standage, together with Tokio Marine & Nichido, NTT DATA, and TradeWaltz Co., Ltd., announced that it will conduct a demonstration experiment to realize a new trade payment system that simultaneously exchanges electronic B/Ls (bills of lading) used as a substitute for cargo and digital currency (or crypto assets), aiming to be the first in the world to commercialize this system.
Tokio Marine & Nichido and NTT Data have invested in us to accelerate our efforts to commercialize this new trade settlement system within fiscal 2023.
Through this capital and business alliance, we will further strengthen our collaboration, create a new trade settlement system, and support safe and secure trade transactions between companies.
The funds raised in the Series A round will be used to expand services, increase personnel to strengthen development and operations, and strengthen marketing and promotional activities with the aim of expanding the business of DiGiTRAD, Standage's digital trading service that enables companies to completely outsource their trade arrangements, including a new trade settlement system.

[Tetsunosuke Shintani, Deputy Director of the Marine Business Department, Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co., Ltd.]
This new initiative has social significance in that the rights to the cargo and their value are exchanged at the same time, ensuring simultaneous fulfillment of claims and liabilities, and realizing trade that is safe for both sellers and buyers. We believe that partnering with Standage, which has extensive knowledge of both digital and trade, is the best option to realize this system as a business.

[Shinji Setoriyama, Director of the Digital Strategy Promotion Department, Financial Business Promotion Department, NTT DATA Corporation]
As part of our open innovation efforts, NTT DATA is working to create new service models through technical collaborations with various venture companies. This time, we were given the opportunity to work on realizing a new trade settlement system using blockchain technology. We hope that this initiative will become a new social infrastructure for the digital age.

 

▶Comment from Representative Akinori Adachi

For Japan, the creation of new trade is a lifeline, and we must not only support existing trade, but also expand trade to new markets that will grow in the future. Our mission at Standage is to use technology to shape trade business in areas where infrastructure has been lacking and it has not been possible to realize it until now. By teaming up with Tokio Marine and NTT Data, leaders of Japanese business, we intend to provide our customers with even higher added value through our digital trading company service "DiGiTRAD" and build a next-generation infrastructure that will improve trade efficiency.