Singapore-based Kristal.AI, an artificial intelligence-driven asset management platform, has raised $1.85m.
The seed round was led by IDG Ventures India, with Shailesh Rao, an angel investor and employee at McKinsey, and Amit Gupta, the founding partner of Newquest Capital, also participating.
Kristal.AI will use the money to bolster its technology stack as well as expedite the integration of machine learning capabilities to provide ‘faster and more efficient’ financial advisory to its clients. It is also looking at expanding its reach into South-East Asia, Middle-East and the US.
Operational in Singapore, Hong Kong and India, the company is using artificial intelligence to create investment strategies and is targeting wealth funds, high-net-worth individuals and family offices.
Its platform provides investors and advisors with sophisticated curated portfolios (branded as Kristals) created by financial experts on the platform. Each Kristal is based on a theme and is comprised of a wide variety of exchange-traded assets including stocks, ETFs, bonds, options, futures, currencies and alternatives.
Currently, there are 150+ Kristals on the platform, allowing investors to invest in global markets such as North America, Europe, Asia-pacific including India, Japan, and China. Kristal.AI currently focuses on investors in the Singapore, Hong Kong and India markets. The company claims its proprietary compliance engine and due diligence process ensures trading strategies are vetted and approved before being put to use on client’s money.
TCM Sundaram, founding partner of IDG Ventures India said, “Kristal.ai’s platform is solving a real gap in the ultra and mass affluent market which is bigger than the equity mutual funds market, with investors seeking sophisticated trading instruments to increase their returns. We are very excited to partner with the Kristal.ai team to scale this new market”.
Artificial intelligence is beginning to become more prominent in the financial services industry. Earlier this month, HSBC said it will use AI to help it spot money laundering, fraud and terrorist funding. The bank is integrating the AI software of Quantexa, a UK-based start-up, to screen the vast amounts of data it holds on customers and their transactions against publicly available data, in a big to tackle financial crime.
SenseTime, a Chinese AI company specialising in facial and image recognition technology, also recently closed a $600m Series C round. SenseID claims to reduce business risks for financial firms and mobile network operators as well as reduces human resources expenditures.
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