Singapore-based artificial intelligence (AI) startup Advance.ai has raised USD 80 million in its Series C funding round led by Gaorong Capital and Pavilion Capital, the company announced on Friday in an official statement.
Other investors who joined in the round were Unicorn Venture, eGarden Ventures and existing investors like GSR Ventures and Vision Plus Capital.
The fresh capital will be used to drive the company’s regional expansion across Asia.
Founded in 2015, Advance.ai uses artificial intelligence to support businesses growth by reducing fraud risks and improving operational efficiency, serving in sectors such as fintech, banking, retail, and others. The company also provides credit scoring systems for underbanked in developing markets.
The company has over 300 enterprise customers in Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and India.
Pavilion Capital is a Temasek-linked private equity firm that invests in tech startups in China and latterly also in Southeast Asia. Across the region, it has also invested in Warung Pintar, M17, and Social Bella.
Singapore has been developing a favorable environment for AI startups as the country has poured USD 369 million into artificial intelligence, supercomputing, and robotics to facilitate its transformation into a smart nation. Recently, the minister-in-charge of the Smart Nation Program Office, Vivian Balakrishnan, said that Singapore will “double down” on its effort to build up the artificial intelligence sector.
Another regionally active artificial intelligence company that recently raised funds is Element.AI. The Canadian-based startup collected USD 151.4 million in its Series B round led by Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec (CDPQ) and other investors such as McKinsey & Company and the Quebec government.