Advance Intelligence Group bags more than US$400m in Series D round led by Softbank Vision Fund 2, Warburg Pincus

ADVANCE Intelligence Group, a Singapore-headquartered artificial intelligence (AI) tech startup announced on Wednesday that it had closed its more than US$400 million round of financing from an investor consortium led by Softbank Vision Fund 2 and Warburg Pincus.

Through the round of financing, the group is now valued at US$2 billion, a marked increase from its US$400 million valuation back in 2019. Other key investors include EDBI, the investment arm of Singapore's Economic Development Board, Northstar, Vision Plus Capital and Gaorong Capital.

Advance Intelligence Group is the parent company of buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) platform Atome, fintech company Advance.AI as well as Indonesian digital lending platform Kredit Pintar.

The group plans to use the new capital to fund the growth of its BNPL platform and digital lending presence across Asia, deepen its AI and Big Data analytics capabilities and enterprise client coverage, and grow its global talent pool.

Currently, the group employs 1,500 staff in 12 markets across South and South-east Asia, China and Latin America.

The group also hopes to tap its investors networks, experience and expertise to gain partnership and commercial opportunities.

A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU

Monday, 3.30 pm

Garage

The hottest news on all things startup and tech to kickstart your week.

Sign Up

Co-founder, group chairman and chief executive officer of Advance Intelligence Group Jefferson Chen said that the round of financing was a "significant milestone" for the company.

"The new financing will also accelerate the digital transformation of enterprises and merchants, big and small, while enabling more equitable access to credit and financial inclusion for both under-banked and under-served consumers and businesses," he added.

Managing director of Warburg Pincus Saurabh Agarwal said that the private equity firm is "excited" to enter into this partnership as Asia represents one of the largest and fastest-growing digital markets globally, with a middle-class population that wants reliable and flexible solutions to address their credit needs.

"We believe the group is well-positioned to capture the tremendous growth opportunity in the region with its best-in-class product offerings and differentiated go-to-market strategy," he noted.