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SINGAPORE, Sept. 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Advance Intelligence Group (“the Group”), a Singapore-headquartered AI-driven technology company today announced the closing of its USD400M+ Series D round financing from an investor consortium led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2* and Warburg Pincus. Other key investors include Northstar, Vision Plus Capital, Gaorong Capital and Singapore-based global investor EDBI. With a valuation of over USD2 billion, the Group is now one of the largest independent technology startups based in Singapore.
Founded in 2016, the Group has built an ecosystem of AI-powered, credit-enabled products and services, including Asia’s leading BNPL platform Atome, SaaS big data analytics and enterprise solutions provider ADVANCE.AI, Indonesia’s top digital lending platform Kredit Pintar and omnichannel ecommerce merchant services platform Ginee.
The Group employs 1,500 staff and currently operates in 12 markets across South and Southeast Asia, Greater China, and Latin America. Today, its enterprise and consumer business serve more than 800 enterprise clients, 100,000 merchants and 20 million consumers.
The Group plans to use the new capital to fuel the growth of its BNPL and digital lending presence across Asia, deepen AI and big data analytics capabilities and enterprise client coverage, and grow its global talent pool. In addition, the Group looks to leverage its investors’ deep network, experience and expertise to maximise partnership and commercial opportunities.
Jefferson Chen, Co-Founder, Group Chairman and CEO of Advance Intelligence Group, said: “We reached a significant milestone today, made possible by our clients, customers, partners, investors and colleagues who believe in the transformative ability of AI to power tomorrow’s digital economy. At the heart of our vision is an AI-powered and credit-enabled marketplace ecosystem driving both digital commerce and digital financial services across Asia. The new financing will also accelerate the digital transformation of enterprises and merchants, big and small, while enabling more equitable access to credit and financial inclusion for both underbanked and underserved consumers and businesses.”
Greg Moon, Managing Partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers, said: “Powered by AI and big data, Advance Intelligence Group provides a diverse suite of financial products and services to consumers and enterprises across Southeast Asia. The Group’s AI-first approach has enabled them to provide innovative solutions and develop new product avenues to create value. We are delighted to partner with Jefferson and his team to support their mission of developing financial services that are both accessible and affordable.”
Saurabh Agarwal, Managing Director of Warburg Pincus, said: “We are excited to enter into this partnership with Advance Intelligence Group and its exceptional leadership team which has a strong track record in AI-based digital lending, technology and risk management. Asia represents one of the largest and fastest growing digital markets globally with a highly connected middle-class population that’s increasingly seeking reliable and flexible solutions to address their unmet credit needs. We believe the Group is well positioned to capture the tremendous growth opportunity in the region with its best-in-class product offerings and differentiated go-to-market strategy. We look forward to collaborating closely with the management team to grow the Group into the leading AI-powered credit marketplace and undisputed leader in digital financial services.”
Patrick Walujo, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Northstar, said: “We have known and worked closely with Jefferson and his team since Advance Intelligence Group was founded in 2016 and have witnessed first-hand the team’s impressive execution as the company grew from a SaaS-focused analytics solutions provider to Indonesia’s top digital lending platform, and now building its fast-growing BNPL and omnichannel ecommerce enabler business lines. We are delighted to continue partnering management to grow the Group into Asia’s leading AI-powered digital financial services company.”
A detailed corporate factsheet and media kit is available here.
Credit Suisse acted as exclusive placement agent for Advance Intelligence Group.