Active.ai – intelligent virtual assistants for financial service institutions

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Active.ai will use funding to accelerate development of its platform’s features

Active.ai

Singapore-based fintech startup Active.ai has raised US$3 million from IDG Ventures India and Kalaari Capital.

It aims to use the newly-raised capital to accelerate the development of more advanced AI features for its platform.

Founded by Ravishankar, Shankar Narayanan and Parikshit Paspulati, Active.ai develops intelligent virtual assistants for financial service institutions. These virtual assistants come in the form of bots, SMS or voice API’s.

Customers who leverage on this automated AI-enabled service can get their queries and businesses handled much quicker than traditional means such as via telephone.

“Conversation is the new UX and with banks opening up APIs, a new era of digital business is emerging. We are moving from ‘Mobile First’ to ‘AI first’ and Active.ai is the platform facilitating banks to achieve that,” said Ravishankar, in a press statement.

“43 per cent of worldwide mobile phone consumers with a bank account use mobile banking today. The new generation of banking customers are looking for easy, secure and seamless interaction with their financial services provider,” said Sanat Rao, IDG Ventures.

Image Credit: Active.ai

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Lunch Actually bags 7-digit Series A from Fatfish and a Japanese social network

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The Singapore-based premium dating platform plans to ramp up presence in existing markets as well as expand to one new market

Lunch Actually

Singapore-based dating services provider Lunch Actually has raised an undisclosed 7-digit Series A round from Japanese social media network and publisher of mobile game Monster Strike mixi; and ASX-listed Singapore-based VC Fatfish.

The newly-raised capital will be used to increase its presence in existing markets — Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia — as well as expand to one new market in Asia. In addition, it will be ramping up marketing and hiring efforts.

First established in 2004, Lunch Actually operates a suite of dating services including its bread-and-butter dating consultation service, online matchmaking platform esync, and dating app LunchClick.

It made two acquisitions in the past two years including dating app Love Out Loud Asia (LOLA) and Thailand matchmaking company MeetNLunch.

Lunch Actually claims to have more than half a million users and a five-fold revenue growth since 2011.

Despite its optimistic outlook, the dating company attracted controversy in the online community over claims of poor customer services and hard-sell tactics.

Lunch Actually, however, vehemently defended itself in an exhaustive article on Vulcan Post.

Image Credit: LunchActually

 

 

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