Kristal.AI, an artificial intelligence-powered investing platform startup based in Singapore, announced recently the raising of a US$6 million Series A financing round that was led by Chiratae Ventures – formerly known as IDG Ventures India – a leading technology venture capital fund in India with a focus on fintech, healthtech and software as a service (SaaS) sectors, and Desai Family Office. Chiratae Ventures is a returning investor, having previously participated in the wealth management startup’s last publicly announced $1.85 million funding round, while Desai Family Office is a new investor in Kristal.AI. It is understood that the Series A funding round also saw the participation of certain high networth individuals with ties to the finance industry.
The freshly acquired funds will enable the digital wealth management platform company to further accelerate its global expansion plans in key markets, particularly those in the Middle East and the Asia Pacific region. The startup also plans to use the funds to fortify and strengthen its technology capabilities, namely the back-end. Additionally, the new funding will also be used for the development of fine-tuned and well-crafted curated strategies. Kristal.AI also announced that it plans to debut a new product or service for India, which is an important existing market for the company.
Asheesh Chanda, founder and chief executive officer of Kristal.AI, said that the current generation has brought about a new class of individuals that define their status by their cultural capital and consumer choices instead of their income. This new class, the aspirational class, are very fluid and highly mobile in their approach to life, and do not conform to the standards of living that their forebears went through. Nevertheless, even though the majority of them no longer follow the conventional route of marrying young, getting a house before their thirties, and working at the same company until retirement, the way that they invest has not caught up with their rapidly evolving and changing lifestyles. Therefore, this new generation of investors require a more personalized approach that is custom-made to suit their lifestyle choices, goals and aims, and risk profiles. However, at present only a very small group of high profile individuals and clients are able to access these highly personalized services from the banking industry. Kristal.AI aims to resolve this issue by enabling individuals from all walks of life to easily access these transformative and powerful personalized investing strategies, which are tailor-made for the new generation of global investors.
According to TCM Sundaram, founder and managing director at Chiratae Ventures, the traditional banking industry is ripe for disruptive change, and one of the largest factors contributing to that change will be the capability of financial advisors to provide highly personalized, real-time investment products and services to an increasingly evolving and fluid generation of global investors. He also noted that the digital wealth management startup is executing on that front quite well.
Currently, Kristal.AI, the wealth management and investing platform startup, has licenses to operate in the markets of Singapore, Hong Kong and India. It boasts approximately ten thousand users on its investing platform, and manages more than US$100 million worth of assets under management. The startup utilizes its proprietary genetic algorithm to recommend, build and develop investing portfolios that are customized to suit each user’s needs and goals.
