Singapore-based unicorn startup Advance Intelligence raises $80 million in funding

While the rest of the startup space may be experiencing a funding drought, investments in artificial intelligence have increased more than sixfold since 2016, according to data from research firm Statista.

Since the debut of ChatGPT in November of the previous year, there has been a resurgence in funding for artificial intelligence (AI) startups as investors and venture capital firms pour billions into generative AI startups. The latest is Singapore-based unicorn startup Advance Intelligence Group.

Today, Advance Intelligence Group announced it has raised $80 million from a consortium led by existing investors Warburg Pincus and Northstar Group. The latest funding follows the company’s previous Series D round of over US$400 million in 2021. The latest round brings the total raised by the company to more than $700 million since its inception in 2016.

Additionally, Advance Intelligence announced that it has obtained over $1 billion in capital to support its credit book. The company also has Standard Chartered Bank as one of its regional strategic partners.

Founded in 2016 and based in Singapore with operations across Asia, Advance Intelligence offers a range of credit-enabled products and services powered by AI. These include Atome, a “buy now, pay later” platform, Kredit Pintar, a digital lending platform in Indonesia, ADVANCE.AI, a provider of enterprise digital identity, compliance, and risk management solutions through software-as-a-service (SaaS), and Ginee, an omnichannel e-commerce merchant services platform.

“Since our previous raise in 2021, we have taken a disciplined approach and made good progress in fulfilling our vision of advancing tomorrow’s digital ecosystem across the region. This new investment will help accelerate our program of using AI technology to streamline consumer transactions and enable greater and fairer access to credit and financial products and services. We appreciate our investors’ continued faith and confidence in us,” Jefferson Chen, co-founder, group chairman and CEO of Advance Intelligence Group, said in a statement.

Saurabh Agarwal, partner and managing director, Warburg Pincus, says: “Advance Intelligence Group and its leadership team continue to execute on their vision of advancing the digital ecosystem in the region. Southeast Asia remains one of the fastest-growing digital markets globally with a 680 million population, the majority of whom still lack affordable and equitable access to credit. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Jefferson and helping the company deliver its commitment to millions of customers across the region.”

Advance Intelligence has a client base of more than 500 enterprises, 235,000 merchants, and 40 million individual consumers. The company claims to have provided loans totaling over US$4 billion.