ADVANCE.AI, the Singapore-based artificial intelligence (AI) and big data technology company, has raised US$80 million in Series C funding led by Gaorong Capital and Pavilion Capital, with participation from Unicorn Venture, eGarden Ventures and existing investors including GSR Ventures and Vision Plus Capital.
The funds raised will be used to drive regional expansion across Asia. ADVANCE.AI’s vision is for “Better AI, Better Life, and Better Human”. It strives to build and promote AI technologies for good, helping businesses drive growth by reducing fraud risks, improving operational efficiency, as well as empowering a new generation of credit scoring for financial institutions to serve the underbanked in emerging markets.
ADVANCE.AI currently has more than 300 enterprise customers across five markets in Asia (Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, and India). Key sectors it serves include banking and fintech, telecommunications, and retail. ADVANCE Guardian, the company’s flagship product, uses AI technology to assist banks and other businesses in e-KYC, fraud detection and credit scoring. As a Singapore start-up, ADVANCE.AI is a passionate supporter of the government’s vision to grow Singapore into a leading fintech and AI hub, regionally and globally.
Jefferson Chen, Co-founder and CEO of ADVANCE.AI, said: “We believe AI as a technology will benefit the society by enabling better, faster and more personalised access to products, services and information. Historically the attention and resources dedicated to AI development such as computer vision and natural language processing for Southeast Asia has been lacking, and we have been focusing on that in the past three years by bringing some of the best talents from various fields together to address the needs in this part of the world.
Today our AI-based computer vision, fraud detection and credit scoring technologies deliver some of the best results against global industry benchmarks, and what differentiates us from others is our commitment to localisation. Building and maintaining our reputation with customers is at the forefront of everything we do. We can only grow if our customers grow. We strive to invest more heavily into the R&D and innovations in the coming years to better serve our customers’ need and grow together with them."
Zhen Zhang, Founder and Managing Partner of Gaorong Capital, said: “There are lots of opportunities in emerging markets like Southeast Asia right now, especially in consumer financing and retail. ADVANCE.AI never forgets its vision to empower businesses with AI, and is dedicated to building core competencies and creating customer values. They have built one of the best global tech startups with both excellent strategic planning and relentless execution. With its deep roots in Southeast Asia, ADVANCE.AI has unique advantages in regional connections and local team development, becoming a true global company. Gaorong believes that ADVANCE.AI can continue to help regional clients transform their traditional businesses in the AI era, and deliver more value to consumers in these emerging markets, with the capabilities and core technologies it has firmly established."
Roland Ang, Investment Committee member at Pavilion Capital, said: “We have been investing in technology firms in China and more recently in Southeast Asia. We are privileged to be able to support Jefferson and the Advance.AI team. They bring deep experiences and a compelling vision to building the next generation data analytics and artificial intelligence business in credit scoring and financial inclusion.”
The funds raised will be used to drive regional expansion across Asia. ADVANCE.AI’s vision is for “Better AI, Better Life, and Better Human”. It strives to build and promote AI technologies for good, helping businesses drive growth by reducing fraud risks, improving operational efficiency, as well as empowering a new generation of credit scoring for financial institutions to serve the underbanked in emerging markets.
ADVANCE.AI currently has more than 300 enterprise customers across five markets in Asia (Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, and India). Key sectors it serves include banking and fintech, telecommunications, and retail. ADVANCE Guardian, the company’s flagship product, uses AI technology to assist banks and other businesses in e-KYC, fraud detection and credit scoring. As a Singapore start-up, ADVANCE.AI is a passionate supporter of the government’s vision to grow Singapore into a leading fintech and AI hub, regionally and globally.
Jefferson Chen, Co-founder and CEO of ADVANCE.AI, said: “We believe AI as a technology will benefit the society by enabling better, faster and more personalised access to products, services and information. Historically the attention and resources dedicated to AI development such as computer vision and natural language processing for Southeast Asia has been lacking, and we have been focusing on that in the past three years by bringing some of the best talents from various fields together to address the needs in this part of the world.
Today our AI-based computer vision, fraud detection and credit scoring technologies deliver some of the best results against global industry benchmarks, and what differentiates us from others is our commitment to localisation. Building and maintaining our reputation with customers is at the forefront of everything we do. We can only grow if our customers grow. We strive to invest more heavily into the R&D and innovations in the coming years to better serve our customers’ need and grow together with them."
Zhen Zhang, Founder and Managing Partner of Gaorong Capital, said: “There are lots of opportunities in emerging markets like Southeast Asia right now, especially in consumer financing and retail. ADVANCE.AI never forgets its vision to empower businesses with AI, and is dedicated to building core competencies and creating customer values. They have built one of the best global tech startups with both excellent strategic planning and relentless execution. With its deep roots in Southeast Asia, ADVANCE.AI has unique advantages in regional connections and local team development, becoming a true global company. Gaorong believes that ADVANCE.AI can continue to help regional clients transform their traditional businesses in the AI era, and deliver more value to consumers in these emerging markets, with the capabilities and core technologies it has firmly established."
Roland Ang, Investment Committee member at Pavilion Capital, said: “We have been investing in technology firms in China and more recently in Southeast Asia. We are privileged to be able to support Jefferson and the Advance.AI team. They bring deep experiences and a compelling vision to building the next generation data analytics and artificial intelligence business in credit scoring and financial inclusion.”
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