Community commerce platform Kiki World Inc. is launching a suite of tools and applications. The company leverages blockchain technology to help consumers connect with each other and with brands to co-create products, receive rewards for brand engagement and participate in consumer beauty-brand innovation.
This month’s platform additions will include new application program interfaces to enable peer-to-peer communication, incentive- and reward-driven engagement campaigns and community management tools.
The company also announced an initial $7 million funding round, which closed in the second quarter of last year. Kiki Chief Executive Jana Bobosikova said that it wanted to establish relationships with its creator community organically before disclosing its investment partners. Last year’s funding round was led by Andreessen Horowitz Capital Management LLC, which does business as a16z Crypto, and New Incubation Ventures, the investment and incubation arm of Estée Lauder Companies Inc. Additional investors included Double Down Fund, 2 Punks Capital and Advancit Capital LLC.
“(We have) the backing of industry leaders from both the luxury consumer world with Estée Lauder and the frontier tech world with a16z Crypto,” Bobosikova said. “(Both) see Kiki’s platform as the evolution of commerce (and) as the birthing of the next generation of community-led brands and in building a blockchain network that will lead to a broader ecosystem of tech development and transaction interactions.”
Kiki was co-founded by Bobosikova with Brendon Garner and Ricky Chan. Garner and Chan now serve as head of platform and chief creative officer, respectively. Since the platform’s launch last year, Kiki has put out five product collections, including a skincare line that lets customers can vote on key ingredients and launch order and a peelable nail polish pen that asks consumers to choose the next color in the product’s lineup.
