Whale’s founder and CEO Jerry Ye
Singapore-headquartered enterprise AI company Whale has raised a US$40 million extension to its Series C round, bringing the total Series C financing to US$100 million, as it looks to expand deployments across Asia Pacific and North America.
The extension was led by CMB International, through an investment fund focused on AI and frontier technology, and SMBC Asia Rising Fund, the corporate venture capital arm of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.
Other investors in the extension include Krungsri Finnovate, Singtel Innov8, Hyundai Motor Group, and Charisma Partners.
Also Read: Why most enterprise AI in APAC is still stuck in the proof-of-concept room
Earlier participants in the Series C included Bosch Ventures, MTR Lab, MDI Ventures, Gentree Fund, and Linear Capital.
Whale said the new capital will support team expansion, enterprise partnerships and platform integrations with local infrastructure. The company operates across Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and other Asia-Pacific markets, alongside a growing North American base. It also plans to enter the Middle East, North Africa and Europe.
Founded as an enterprise AI company, Whale builds what it calls an AI Operating System for business operations. Its core pitch is that large companies need AI systems that do not merely analyse documents, chat logs or internal databases, but also interpret signals from physical environments such as stores, showrooms, restaurants, factories and commercial facilities.
From cameras to operational decisions
Whale’s technology is built around its proprietary Business World Model, which it describes as an AI model designed to process signals from cameras, sensors and audio in a way comparable to how large language models process text.
Its main products include SpaceSight, which uses cameras and IoT sensors to track foot traffic, dwell time, engagement and compliance in physical locations, and Echo, which analyses frontline sales conversations to identify performance patterns and training needs. Other products cover content distribution, workflow automation, knowledge management, compliance, AI infrastructure and governance.
The company says it serves more than 1,600 enterprises in over 45 countries and manages more than 600,000 edge AI nodes globally. Its customers operate across retail, automotive, food and beverage, manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, fashion and apparel.
Jerry Ye, founder and CEO of Whale, said the round is intended to deepen existing work rather than fund a new direction.
“Enterprises across regions are grappling with rising operational costs, and the urgent need to turn unstructured operational data into decision-ready intelligence,” he said. “We’re scaling our teams globally, deepening enterprise partnerships, and expanding our platform integrations with local infrastructure.”
The comment points to a wider shift in enterprise AI. After two years of intense interest in generative AI pilots, large companies are now under pressure to show measurable returns. That is particularly relevant in Southeast Asia, where retailers, banks, logistics firms and manufacturers often operate across fragmented markets, uneven infrastructure and highly localised customer behaviour.
Southeast Asia’s physical economy is the test case
Whale’s Southeast Asian relevance lies less in the novelty of its model and more in where it is being deployed. The region remains a heavily offline economy despite rapid digital adoption. Google, Temasek and Bain have projected Southeast Asia’s digital economy could reach about US$1 trillion in gross merchandise value by 2030, but a significant share of commercial activity still runs through physical stores, bank branches, dealer networks, food outlets and service counters.
Also Read: Enterprise AI hits barriers as privacy, sovereignty demands grow
That makes AI systems for physical operations attractive to enterprises trying to improve productivity without adding headcount. In markets such as Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam, companies often face labour shortages in skilled frontline roles, high staff turnover and rising wage pressure. AI tools that monitor service quality, compliance, customer engagement and sales execution could appeal to large retailers, quick-service restaurant chains, automotive distributors and financial institutions.
At the same time, the opportunity comes with constraints. Southeast Asian regulators are paying closer attention to AI governance, data localisation, privacy and biometric surveillance. Singapore has taken a relatively pro-innovation approach through frameworks such as AI Verify, while Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia have been developing or updating personal data protection regimes. Any system that relies on cameras, audio or sensor data will need to address consent, retention, explainability and cross-border data processing.
That is where Whale’s strategic investors may matter. Krungsri Finnovate brings links into Thailand and ASEAN through Bank of Ayudhya and MUFG. Singtel Innov8 can offer telecommunications and enterprise connectivity channels. SMBC and CMBI provide access to banking and corporate networks in Japan, China and broader Asia.
Palida Artispong, Acting Managing Director and Head of Portfolio Growth and Investor Relations at Krungsri Finnovate, said the investment reflects Whale’s ability to support “a full-suite, omnichannel product across the entire customer journey”, adding that Krungsri’s footprint in Thailand and ASEAN could help the company expand regionally.
A crowded market with different entry points
Whale is entering a competitive field. In physical space analytics, companies such as RetailNext, Trax, and Verkada have built businesses around in-store intelligence, inventory visibility, computer vision and security. In industrial and connected operations, Samsara and other IoT platforms help enterprises collect and act on sensor and fleet data. In voice and sales intelligence, players such as Observe.AI, Gong and CallMiner focus on customer conversations and performance coaching.
China-born computer vision companies such as SenseTime and Megvii have also spent years selling AI into retail, transport and security settings, though geopolitical concerns and regulatory scrutiny have affected their global expansion. In Southeast Asia, enterprises often rely on a mix of local systems integrators, cloud providers, CCTV vendors and point solutions rather than a single AI operating layer.
Whale’s challenge is therefore not just technical. It must persuade enterprises to consolidate operational data into its platform, integrate with legacy systems and trust its governance controls. That can be a slow sales cycle, especially in regulated sectors such as banking and healthcare.
SMBC’s Mayoran Rajendra, Managing Director and Head of AI Transformation Office, said Whale’s ability to structure data from physical environments was the key attraction. He said combining Whale’s technology with SMBC Group’s client network could help deliver value “across industries and regions”.
Also Read: The big flip: Why being “smart” isn’t enough for enterprise AI in 2026
For Whale, the US$100 million Series C gives it capital and strategic distribution at a time when enterprise AI budgets are becoming more selective. IDC has forecast continued double-digit growth in AI spending across Asia-Pacific, but buyers are increasingly demanding use cases tied to cost reduction, compliance, productivity and revenue conversion.
The next phase will test whether Whale can move beyond impressive deployment numbers and prove durable enterprise outcomes across different regulatory, linguistic and operational environments. In Southeast Asia, where physical commerce remains central to the economy, that may be the difference between another AI platform story and a business that becomes embedded in how companies actually run.
The post CMBI, SMBC back Whale’s US$40M Series C extension for enterprise AI expansion appeared first on e27.