Blockchain & Loyalty Experts Establish Kigo, an Open Loyalty Platform

Augeo, a leading company in loyalty and engagement technologies on a global scale, has announced the establishment of Kigo. Kigo is the result of merging Heaps, Augeo’s subsidiary focused on crypto loyalty, and Thred, an innovative platform for NFT engagement. Together, these two ventures have secured a total of $16 million in funding, which includes $6.5 million in fresh commitments from Valor Siren Ventures and Augeo. The additional funding will expedite the launch of Kigo.

In a time where prominent brands are actively seeking to shape new experiences and adopt digital assets, Kigo is paving the way for a revolutionary era known as Open Loyalty™. This concept revolves around the sharing of experiences, ownership of digital assets, and collaborative efforts across different brands. With Augeo’s extensive experience in loyalty, serving hundreds of brands and millions of users over the course of decades, Kigo is equipped with the platform and expertise to bring Open Loyalty to the world.

“The tremendous promise of digital assets unlocks newly possible customer connections and community experiences,” said David Kristal, Founder and CEO of Augeo and Executive Chair of Kigo. “Kigo’s Open Loyalty platform delivers impactful and enduring moments for people to interact with the brands they love. This is significant for the future of loyalty engagement.”

By collaborating with Kigo, companies gain the ability to generate, distribute, and oversee customer, employee, and membership experiences that leverage blockchain technology. These experiences encompass a wide range of offerings, including dynamic digital badges that celebrate achievements, rewards that can be shared with others, personalized digital memberships, and large-scale collaborations between multiple brands. Additionally, brands can integrate a comprehensive digital rewards marketplace. This marketplace allows individuals to redeem their loyalty rewards for highly relevant digital collectibles, commemorative items, access passes, and more. Notably, the marketplace supports popular cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.

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“The key to unlocking new value for people and brands lies in making experiences so intuitive that you don’t even realize you’re interacting with the blockchain,” said Peter Schultze, CEO of Kigo and former Heaps lead. “Kigo aims to bring the benefits of blockchain to people in the most meaningful and rewarding ways yet.”

“Brands are increasingly asking about digital assets in response to growing demand from their customers, members and employees,” said Ben Straley, President and Co-Founder of Kigo and former Thred CEO. “Kigo will seamlessly unlock consumer loyalty and elevate engagement by harnessing the power of digital assets and blockchain technology.”

“The combination of Heaps and Thred positions Kigo as the leader in digital asset loyalty. Kigo’s innovative solutions are unique in the space, and we are grateful to support the team while continuing our longstanding relationship with the Augeo team,” said Jon Shulkin, Fund Manager at Valor Siren Ventures and Co-President at Valor Equity Partners.

About Kigo:
The platform offered by Kigo enables businesses to effectively engage individuals using innovative methods of rewards, membership, and recognition, all made possible through blockchain technology. Kigo was established in 2023 through a collaboration between Augeo, a renowned leader in engagement technology, and Ben Straley, a former executive at Starbucks, Amazon, and Thred.

Source: PRNewsWire