Spanish bank’s investment arm backs fin-tech startup Active.Ai

Singapore-based fin-tech startup Active.Ai, founded by Indian-origin entrepreneurs, has raised $3 million (about Rs 21 crore at current exchange rate) in a fresh round of funding from Spanish banking group Banco Sabadell’s corporate venture and investment arm InnoCells.

In a statement, Active.Ai said the investment was an extension of its Series A round.

In November 2017, Active.Ai had raised about $8.25 million (Rs 54 crore then) in its Series A round from Kalaari Capital, Chiratae Ventures (formerly IDG Ventures India) and Vertex Ventures.

The investment, which appears to be strategic in nature, will help Banco Sabadell in streamlining its cost structures by automating tasks, such as user queries, and designing interfaces that improve customers' engagement, the statement added.

Active.Ai

Active.Ai, owned and operated by Active Intelligence Pte. Ltd, was founded in 2016 by Ravishankar, Shankar Narayanan and Parikshit Paspulati. The startup uses artificial intelligence (AI) to deliver virtual assistant banking services.

Its AI engine helps banks and other financial institutions to engage with their customers through messaging, voice and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. This full-stack solution consists of machine learning, natural language processing and natural language generation.

The startup’s conversational intelligence platform can be linked to digital interfaces, such as Alexa, Google Home, and messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Skype.

The solution could be deployed on-premises or in the cloud depending on the requirements of financial institutions.

The company, which works with financial institutions and banks in India, Malaysia, and Singapore, is also looking to foray into Mexico and the US by the end of this year.  

Besides, the startup has developed solutions for the financial industry − commercial and corporate banking, insurance and capital markets – for customer support and information, transaction execution, and even predictions of future requirements, including invoicing, transfers, claims management and shares trading.