AI and ML should be commoditised for the financial industry, but implementation suffers from technology weaknesses, data inadequacies and human inertia

Big Data and Machine Learning have already changed the way we receive information. Advertisers no longer rely on billboards or television to reach us. The recent events surrounding Facebook, Twitter and Google have shed a very public light on the way those mammoths have been using the data of their users to serve the commercial and political purposes of paying third parties. By simply reading the user profile and applying Machine Learning tools, they can, more easily than ever, identify the user’s needs and wants, with an almost scary accuracy.

The pervasiveness with which Artificial Intelligence (AI) has come into our daily lives is indeed impressive. What if we could also apply this to trading and investing?

Actually, this is already possible. Some hedge funds and quantitative funds have already developed AI-driven trading bots. But how do we make it easily available for everyone?

In general, we would like to automate the following investing process:

1. Idea generation
2. Idea validation
3. Trade execution
4. Evaluate steps 1 to 3 to iteratively improve them. This is a very logical place for AI to help us improve our own trading biases.

Most of these processes could be automated with AI bots. We could implement bots that are able to identify changes in prices, volumes or even related news from reputable media outlets. Automation with bots will allow investors to be able to expand their trading universe without spending more time in front of a computer to find and analyse the information that an AI bot would be able to process more accurately and tirelessly. Sometimes we also need automation to ensure that we are not driven by our emotions especially when we have been monitoring a position closely for long periods of time.

Also Read: These 3 blockchain startups are building on AI to change our everyday lives

I believe that AI bots would be able to play a large role here to help our investors to be more reliant on automation and scalability of these bots to become better at their trade. It is almost like creating a trading team without hiring a team.

Next steps

For it to happen, there are still many challenges that AI will have to face before becoming commoditised and easily utilised by everyone.

The first challenge lies in ensuring the perfect understanding by the AI of the user’s request. To be used for trading, the AI bots would need to understand with 100 per cent certainty the demands of the trader. This 100 per cent capable AI bot is still far from being achieved. Even Siri is still struggling when you request the weather or the nearest gas station. Imagine letting Siri give trading orders to your broker…. I would still be afraid today.

The second main impediment for a good investing bot lies in the quality of the data and the data collection method. On the former, the current data available to the general public is limited and with minimal checks to ensure validity. If the source of data is not good or the data sets are corrupted, there is no chance for the AI bot to operate a successful investment strategy. In short: ‘garbage in, garbage out’.

On the latter, we replicate the data collection processes over and over again between the different data vendors, hedge funds, individual traders and big institutions. Wouldn’t it be to the benefit of all to have a single data collection and validation facility to be shared open source with all the market participants? I am appealing to all market participants to be “green” about how we collect and store our financial information. Currently, we are all doing it in a highly non-sustainable, non-environmentally friendly manner.

One of the main reasons invoked by market participants to run the data collection individually is the capability to differentiate themselves from the competition, by obtaining a “better” set of data. Well understood, but I think focusing on the raw information is the wrong battle. The focal point should be growing the capability to harvest the knowledge from the data. This would be akin to the commoditisation of computer power with cloud computing, so why not the data too? After all, data is merely oil within the engine of race car. A good driver is still necessary to ensure that you can reach the finish line.

New interfaces

The third obstacle resides in the user interfaces that currently exist. We see chatbots being used successfully in customer relationship management or as virtual assistants, but not yet in the area of finance. Why? First and foremost, we need a way to transform our financial industry’s reliance on outdated user interfaces such as spreadsheets, watch-lists and chart reading skills to identify signals.

Also Read: 7 fintech industry trends you should keep a close eye on

The next generation of traders grew up as smartphone users with apps and games that leverage touch screen interfaces and notifications. A simpler user interface that encourages idea generation, validation and sharing would be essential in the social media age. In general, most online brokers have perfected the user interfaces for execution but have neglected the investors’ discovery journey.

Once those challenges are solved, the next step would be to increase the complexity of the bots that one creates, by using Machine Learning tools to develop predictive capabilities and enhance simple regression analysis with neural networks

For now, what would make most sense is for everyone to get involved collectively and build community-based investing platforms so that all can benefit. Automation and machine learning is within the reach of many investors today because of the birth of cloud computing, open source code and pre-trained AI models. Let’s make it happen for all.

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The author T Kiang Tan is CIO of Grasshopper and Tilde Trading, and Founder of ChatQ

e27 publishes relevant guest contributions from the community. Share your honest opinions and expert knowledge by submitting your content here.

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Instagram should be the go-to place for your social media marketing, and you should consider drawing traffic to your profile

Instagram, considered to be a disruptive social networking platform, has given more power to influencers and celebrities. The interesting part is that these categories of people are minting money from the photo-sharing app in the name of being promoters of brand awareness.

You, too, can be part of the new marketing wave

The beauty of all this is that you, too, can be part of the money minting business by considering Instagram for your social media management. This article is to show you just how you can do that by giving you helpful social media advice on how you can seriously, yes, I mean seriously make money on Instagram.

Did I mention that the advice goes for both your business and personal Instagram accounts? Well, now you know.

How to monetise your Instagram account

I may not be a member of the Kardashian clan or any other celebrity you can think of (speaking of their immense following), but what I can say is that with the growth in the number of followers in my Instagram accounts and the amount of money I have been able to make, I can comfortably cite there are certain tips I can swear on that have proven to work for me in my journey.

Also Read: How I used data analytics to weed cancer out of my Telegram group

As such, in the quest to turn your Instagram account into a money-making machine, the following social media advices are imperative:

1- Make the most from images

We all know that Instagram is all about photo and video sharing, and it is this fact that keeps Instagrammers glued to the site on any given day or month, and Statista can confirm this for us. If you take your photos, consider the prowess that comes with using a smartphone, especially when looking at the extent of immaculateness that is enshrined in image capturing and processing. If you have someone else taking your photos, then hire the best photographers to capture mouth-watering natural and authentic images that will keep followers wanting to see more from your  account.

2- Other apps come in handy, too

Having captured just the right images, the next step is to go further and make a statement, and there is no better way to do this than to use the right caption. It is here that other mobile apps come in handy, with the example of SwiftKey (a predictive app). This app will allow you to insert captions quickly and with ease, which will save you a good amount of time to do other stuff. Such an app is essential for account users, who post a lot in a 24-hour period and for those who have multiple Instagram accounts.  

3- Originality when it concerns content

Aside from the above, be keen to ensure you maintain originality. This goes for the content and images that are posted as well as natural gifts and individual stories. People love authenticity and so it’s to keep this in mind at all times.

4- Instagram should be the centre of your marketing focus especially for social media marketing

Notably, Instagram should be the go-to place for your social media marketing, and you should consider drawing traffic to your profile. To be successful at this, you must be good at engaging, enlightening and encouraging your audience. Before you know it, you will have created an Instagram community, attracted to the authenticity that you or your brand represents.

5- Be professional

This should come naturally for anyone concerned with marketing pursuits. Professionalism and discipline come in handy when building a reliable and reputable brand. This is especially true when you are called upon to engage in partnerships.

6- A PayPal account is key

Finally, with your pay day only being a few posts away, it’s essential to have a PayPal account ready to get the money coming.

Also Read: Indonesian startup Helmad turns your two-wheeler helmet into a moving billboard

Let me conclude this article by saying choosing to take Instagram seriously for your social media management quests is worth it, especially when looking at Instagram marketing which is the way to go for both personal and business brands. You can monetise your account today. The question is: are you ready to join the Instagram money making club? If yes, welcome aboard — we can’t wait to hear from you.

Cheers!

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The author Amelia Dean is a digital marketer based in Melbourne, Australia.

e27 publishes relevant guest contributions from the community. Share your honest opinions and expert knowledge by submitting your content here.

Photo by lalo Hernandez on Unsplash

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The country’s National Electronics and Computer Technology Center (NECTEC) has developed blockchain technology for e-voting

Thailand is on a track to introduce blockchain-based e-voting through its NECTEC arm. The technology reportedly can be deployed in tandem with traditional voting as Thais become more technologically literate with 5G implementation, as told by The Bangkok Post.

“The plan is to have blockchain technology for e-voting that can be applied to national, provincial or community elections, as well as business votes such as the board of directors. The goal is to reduce fraud and maintain data integrity,” said Chalee Vorakulpipat, the head of the cybersecurity laboratory at NECTEC.

Also Read: FlySpaces acquires HK-based office space marketplace Quikspaces

In making sure the system functions, it requires a controller, voters, and candidates. The controller is needed to verify voter identity and candidate qualification before the election, while the voters will be able to vote by email and must be verified using mobile camera.

The downside of this approach would be making sure each and every voter has access to a mobile internet connection and identity verification, something that would require quite a long time.

According to Vorakulpipat, blockchain voting could be useful for Thais living abroad to vote and verify their identities by going to an embassy or consulate.

NECTEC is a statutory government organization that operates under the purview of Thailand’s National Science and Technology Development Agency and the Ministry of Science and Technology. The organization promotes the development of computing, electronics, IT and telecommunications.

Also Read: Vietnam’s FastGo commences operation in Myanmar

Other countries that have tested the blockchain voting in 2018 are United States during the federal mid-term elections for West Virginians in the armed services stationed overseas, as well as Switzerland in the city of Zug and Japan in Tsukuba.
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We also have a funding news for the life sciences unit of Google’s Alphabet, Apple’s stock price, and a moon landing

Google Maps blamed for congested Jakarta alleyways – The Jakarta Post

Yoga Adiwinarto, country director for the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy in Indonesia, has urged Google to stop recommending Jakarta alleyways in its special motorbike route feature on Google Maps.

“The function of these kampong roads is different from that of main roads. The former are meant to accommodate pedestrians and provide residents with public space,” he said.

According to a report by The Jakarta Post, residents of several neighbourhoods in the city have complained about the increasing number of motorcyclists passing through their alleyways, which often only have the width of an adult’s outstretched arms.

Some neighbourhoods even ban motorcyclists from entering their alleyways; some would stop passing motorcyclists to warn them against endangering children.

Motorcyclists have been following the route as recommended by Google Maps in order to avoid congestion on main roads.

Alphabet’s life-science unit Verily raises US$1B – Dealstreet Asia

Alphabet Inc’s life sciences division Verily has announced a US$1 billion investment round led by private equity firm Silver Lake, Dealstreet Asia reported.

The funding round also included the participation of Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.

The company plans to use the new funding to support acquisitions and partnerships as well as to advance business strategies.

Starting off as a research and development unit in Google, Verily received a US$800 million investment from Temasek in 2017.

The company is working on several projects with pharmaceutical companies to research on surgical robots and develop retina scan technology for eye diseases detection.

Also Read: Google wraps up the year with Singapore’s trending list for the past year

China’s lunar probe successfully landed on the far side of the moon – Xinhua, SCMP

The China National Space Administration announced that the country’s lunar probe Change’e-4 has touched down on the far side of the moon on Thursday, becoming the first spacecraft soft-landing on the moon’s uncharted side, which was never visible from Earth.

According to a report by Xinhua, the probe consists of a lander and a rover.

An earlier report by South China Morning Post said that the lunar probe will be used for “astronomical observation using low-frequency radio, surveying the terrain and landforms, detecting the mineral composition and shallow lunar surface structure, and measuring neutron radiation and neutral atoms.”

Apple’s stock drops 38 per cent in 90 days – TechCrunch

Apple’s stock was down more than nine per cent overnight and continued its downward trend in trading in the morning, TechCrunch reported.

The company has been dropping a total of 38 per cent since October, leading it to halt trading on Thursday to provide lower guidance for upcoming trading.

The downward trend is attributed to the slowdown of iPhone sales, which D. A. Davidson senior analyst Tom Forte dubbed as “surprising” though “not unexpected.”

“We knew that iPhone unit sales were weak, but just not how weak,” he said.

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Image Credit: Yulia Agnis on Unsplash

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The Malaysia-grown startup also got support from Commerce.Asia to close the round in late 2018

Claimed itself to be the largest homegrown dropshipping platform, Malaysia-based Kumoten has raised pre-Series A funding led by Cradle Fund and joined by Commerce.Asia Ventures. To date, the company shared that it has more than 100,000 stock keeping units (SKUs) in its catalogue.

Back in 2017, Kumoten has garnered Commerce DotAsia Ventures Sdn Bhd (Commerce.Asia)’s attention in a seed stage, and received mentorship from the venture’s founder and executive chairman Kumar Bangah under Commerce.Asia’s GrowthX Market Acceleration Program. Now, the venture came back for Kumoten’s aid in this round led by Cradle Fund.

Also Read: Vietnam’s FastGo commences operation in Myanmar

Kumoten has said that the fund from this recent equity round will be used to expand its product research and development team, as well as talent acquisition. It also plans to launch local dropshipping sites in Indonesia, Philippines, and Thailand.

Kumoten’s CEO Isaac Leong has expressed that Kumoten will continue to be the seller-centered solution that helps sellers take care of their stock information and cash flow info.

“We want online sellers to enjoy selling online and to focus on sales and marketing activities instead of worrying about the cost of investing in stocks, taking product photos and writing product descriptions,” said Leong.

Kumoten is said to be the first in adopting the Automated Dropship system, where users do not have to download or copy and paste product data. Their approach is called “pay-as-you-sell” instead of the conventional business model of “buy-first, sell-later”, helping to remove the risks of keeping stocks.

Also Read: Thailand’s official tech center to include blockchain-based voting

So far, the company that was founded in 2014 by Leong and his brother, Leong Yew Meng, has worked alongside online marketplaces in Malaysia such as Lazada, Shopee, Lelong.my and 11Street.my.
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Image Credit: Kumoten

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In addition to its rebranding to wellspaces Group, Freeware Spaces also introduced new set of brands in its portfolio

Indonesian co-working and co-living chain Freeware Spaces today announced its rebrand to wellspaces Group, effective January 1, 2019.

With the rebrand, the company also announced its new set of brands in its portfolio:

workwell (co-working space and serviced office)
wellspaces Group currently runs four co-working and serviced office facilities with a plan to launch 10 more in 2019. The company works with building or space owner to manage the coworking facilities. Indonesian startups that had begun its operations at workwell facilities include Bukalapak, Urbanesia, Sayurbox, Ralali, eFishery, and Kumparan.

dwell (co-living houses)
Co-living will be one of the company’s main focus in the coming years; it has teamed up with a team of hospitality industry experts to transform Indonesia’s existing concept of rented rooms.

wellkitchen (co-kitchen and food market)
Targeted at F&B startups, the facility aims to connect founders with potential customers, suppliers, vendors, and other parties to collaborate with and help their business grow.

Also Read: Indonesian coworking spaces Rework, GoWork announce merger

wellsociety (members identity and loyalty rewards programme
In addition to loyalty rewards programme, wellsociety also includes a mobile platform to connect members with each other, give access to wellspaces’s facilities and services, and customer relations management.

In an official statement, wellspaces Group CMO and Co-Founder Fritz Aradhana Dylan Prabawa explained that the company does not want to limit itself into one type of portfolio.

“We see a great opportunity of spaces in Jakarta alone with low to no occupancy to be altered into a revenue stream,” he said.

Prabawa also stated that the rebranding process began with his appointment into the company six months ago.

wellspaces started out in 2012 as Freeware Spaces. One of the earliest co-working spaces in the country, the company began by running a facility in Antasari, South Jakarta, with an oil and gas company as its backer.

The facility serves as an incubator for early stages startups, providing free work space for these companies.

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Image Credit: wellspaces Group

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The incubation program is supported by Singapore government agency Enterprise Singapore

LongHash, the global-scale blockchain incubator, will launch an incubation program tha focuses on getting behind early-stage blockchain startups. The program will be centered in the product development, go-to market strategy, and fundraising, all done through maximising the incubator’s network and blockchain experience.

For the initial cohort that will run from this month to March this year, five startups have been selected. LongHash has shared that it plans to incubate up to 30 projects for the next two years with the goal to help these projects eventually set up regional offices in Singapore.

Also Read: Malaysia’s dropshipping platform Kumoten secures pre-Series A funding from Cradle Fund

“Singapore is a key strategic location for LongHash for three reasons 1) friendly regulatory environment and generous government support, such as Enterprise Singapore’s backing of LongHash; 2) vibrant South East Asia blockchain community with Singapore at the center of it; 3) vast amount of potential use cases for the use of distributed technology. We expect to see Singapore playing a pivotal role in shaping global blockchain technology landscape,” said Emma Cui, CEO of LongHash Singapore.

LongHash’s mission with their base in Singapore is to accelerate the development and understanding of blockchain technology.

Aside from partnering with Enterprise Singapore, LongHash also has global partners that include blockchain venture capital firm Fenbushi as well as Chinese conglomerate Wanxiang Group.

“Blockchain is an emerging technology that can potentially benefit many industries with its application. We hope that LongHash can nurture more successful blockchain startups in Singapore through its network of experts and mentors,” said Yeo Meow Ling, Director of New Industries at Enterprise Singapore on welcoming more global incubators.

Also Read: Thailand’s official tech center to include blockchain-based voting

LongHash’s current global network includes offices in Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Berlin, and Zug.
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Just like the business is benefitted by ECF, investors can also make a lot of money though it may seem that investing in startups is highly risky

There are several distinct surveys that show that founders, who are directly and initially ignored by venture capitalists (VCs), have found success with equity crowdfunding (ECF). It is a common scene that people of colour and women seldom win the backing of VCs, and for this reason they are either found lagging behind their competitors or look for other promising alternatives. One such beneficial alternative is the equity crowdfunding.

According to recent research conducted by the Harvard Business School, it is found that women are less than 10 per cent of the VC and entrepreneurial labour pool. On the other hand, the Hispanics are at a low 2 per cent and the African Americans with a meagre one per cent and below.

This segment of business entrepreneurs has found significant help and a reliable source in ECF for empowering their entrepreneurial quality and eradicate the inequality. This way ECF is helping the women and minorities to overcome many of the challenges that they face historically when it comes to raising their VC for their business. In fact, their recent report shows a lot of promise that ECF seems to be providing to this specific business segment and is improving the miscellany of the VC landscape.

Also Read: 4 factors to consider before you invest in a crowdfunding platform

In recent years, a lot of ECF investments are made on companies with underrepresented founders based on colour and gender as compared to the traditional VC industry.

Reasons for such diversity

The fact that the VCs favour the founders with colour and women less seems to have stemmed from a background of the people and networks such as schools, associations and even past jobs.

• In essence, there seems to be an invisible barrier to the entry point at the VC landscape, simply due to the fact that one does not know the right people to access for such benefits.
• The World Wide Web has significantly helped in removing such restrictions and obstacles and provides equal access to all those people, who want to invest in different vetted startup companies.
• When you consider the current demographics of theequity crowd investors, you will see that it is basically represented by the entire tapestry of Americana right from Miami to Seattle and to New York ensuring a pretty uniform mix. The common age group ranges from 35 to 50 years.

You will find a lot of source for ECF which happens to be just the beginning of a bright and prosperous future. After the US SEC implemented the Title III rule of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups, JOBS Act, situations are bound to improve for the better as the new law will:

• Empower members of the public who are not an accredited investor to invest in early-stage companies
• Include certain limitations in funding to protect the new investors and
• Be very strict about whom to accept into the program.

The primary reason for such strictness is to ensure safety, stability and the desired success of these businesses and to deliver the desired results and products as much as possible.

Process of funding

Every year, the number of applicants desiring ECF is increasing. However, investments are made after an extensive and thorough vetting process is conducted. It is for this reason that only a handful of these applications pass through the first stage of the investment process. Though reliable and reputable sources such as liberty lending and others may not charge any upfront fees to apply, it is mandatory that all these companies are USbased and have the required pitch deck.

• After the application is accepted, it is required by the companies to file a short financial statement and at the same time do a proper SEC filing.
• It is after this process that the team of experts will create a deal page with pictures, video, and a copy explaining the job of the company so that everything can be quick, clearly and easily understood by the public as well as the average investors.
• After the campaign is launched, the company now has to raise an unitemized minimum amount to get the investment funds. If any company is unable to raise even the minimum amount than all the money is returned to the investors.
• On the other hand, on reaching to the funding goal successfully the company will have to pay 6%of the entire funds raised in cash. Along with that, the company will have to pay another 2% of all the securities issued during the campaign.

Every company can participate in such programmes even those that are in the seed stage but the publicly traded companies are not allowed to participate in it. Those companies that are accepted continue to enjoy the benefits and get ongoing support, mentorship and advice apart from getting an account manager who helps the founders through the fundraising process. These companies also get the entire community to access including the extensive network of traditional venture capitalist investors and conferences.

The entire process is very much ongoing and a continuous relationship is built. This ensures that there is the required alignment of interest on both ends that will eventually help the companies to succeed.

Any investor can make money

Just like the business is benefitted by ECF, investors can also make a lot of money though it may seem that investing in startups is highly risky. Yes, there is a fair amount of risk of the money sinking investing in a startup, but on the flip side there is, however, a high chance of making a very attractive return on your investment and you will be rewarded handsomely.

Over the years, the lending policy and the rules and regulations governing ECF have changed and that, too, is a very significant proportion. These changes have provided the investors with an assurance that their investments if made cautiously, will be safe and high yielding.

Therefore, if you want to raise your capital through or want to invest in ECF there seems to be very little to worry in both cases.

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Editor’s note: e27 publishes relevant guest contributions from the community. Share your honest opinions and expert knowledge by submitting your content here.

Photo by Neil Thomas on Unsplash

 

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Also, China defreezes video game licensing, and Bill Gates’ nuclear energy venture is forced to abandon China’s deal

Gojek extends ride-hailing service covering entire Singapore starting from today [Press Release]

In an official statement shared yesterday, Gojek has announced that it will extend its ride-hailing service covering the whole area of Singapore effective today, January 2, 2019. Users now can ride with Gojek anywhere in the country.

Gojek said that the island-wide rollout is the continuation of the app’s beta phase in partnership with DBS/POSB Bank customers, who were prioritised users of the app.

Reported by The Strait Times, Gojek allows dynamic pricing on its apps just before new year’s eve, letting the price for its service increase or decrease based on demand – for its ride-hailing services in the country.

In Singapore, the moniker of the iconic green company has omitted its dash between the word “Go” and “Jek”, becomes known for Gojek.

China finally stops the freeze on video game licensing [Bloomberg]

Nearing the new year’s eve, China finally lifts the ban on video game licensing, approving 80 new video game titles for the first batch of granted licenses. The licenses were granted by the media regulator, putting a stop at the nine-month-long freeze.

However, the list showed mostly local video-game publishers and doesn’t include names of giants like Tencent Holdings Ltd. or Netease Inc. The approvals notice was posted by the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television online.

Also Read: Indonesian startup Helmad turns your two-wheeler helmet into a moving billboard

The move by the country in 2018 to freeze approval process for new games significantly threw big names like Tencent off of its profit scoring. It is said to experience loss for about US$200 billion off its market value.

Singapore prepares for cyber attacks with a bug bounty program [Tech Barrista]

Singapore’s agency for public sector digital transformation, GovTech, and Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) have agreed to work alongside HackerOne in developing a second strategic bug bounty program.

Bug Bounties offer experts in the field a chance at monetary rewards (the ‘bounty’) for reporting valid vulnerabilities to GovTech. This results in a wider testing field, so to speak, with the aim towards strengthening cyber defences.

The bug bounty will be run over a period of three weeks from December 2018 to January 2019 with the goal of finding security flaws in five public-facing government systems and websites.

The initiative is part of the government’s movement towards building a secure and resilient Smart Nation.

Bill Gates’ nuclear energy venture is forced to abandon China’s deal [Reuters]

TerraPower LLC, Bill Gates’ nuclear energy venture, is forced to look for a new partner for its early-stage technology trials. This happened after the new U.S. rules that keeps with a broader plan by the Trump administration to limit China’s ability to access U.S-made technologies back in October.

Initially, TerraPower reached an agreement with state-owned China National Nuclear Corp in 2017 to build an experimental nuclear reactor in south of Beijing. Not long after that, Gates published an essay late last week that TerraPower is unlikely to follow through on its plans because the company has found it too restrictive to allow the reactor prototype to be built domestically.

Also Read: Mobile-focussed recruitment platform GrabJobs raises US$930K

The trials of its technology is designed to use depleted uranium as fuel for nuclear reactors in a bid to improve safety and costs.
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Its product reads data such as battery life, coolant temperature and fault codes from the vehicle’s engine control unit to prompt owners on its current health

Carmen​ ​Automotive, a​ Big Data analytics company in Singapore that serves automotive insurers and servicing centres,​ ​has raised ​S$1 million (US$730,000)​ in pre-Series A round of funding, led by local investment firm Silicon Solution Ventures (SSV), with participation from SEEDS Capital.

Carmen will use the money to increase the deployment of its products across Southeast Asia, starting with Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. It has sights set on the regional market of over 100 million cars.

The firm’s customers include fleet operators, motor insurance providers, auto dealers and auto garage Servicing retail channels.​ ​Data is used to increase their sales and allow them to know when to engage customers at the right time.

Founded in 2014, Carmen Automotive’s predictive technology reads real-time data (including battery life, fault codes, fuel efficiency, mileage) via its proprietary On-Board Diagnostics II (OBD II) hardware. Continuous analytics is automatically performed on the data that is pushed to the cloud backend through the Bluetooth connection to the driver’s smartphone. Both the driver and the repair centre are alerted to potential problems before they occur, allowing service centres to engage customers timely to prevent unexpected vehicle breakdowns.

Also Read: This startup can convert your diesel/petrol car into a hybrid electric for less than US$1,500

The company’s current customers include fleet operators, automotive insurers, auto dealers and garage servicing channels.

“Carmen has managed to come this far thanks to the staff that has stuck with us over the years, as well as our investors’ support. We have accumulated much feedback from our early adopters and will continually work towards optimising our products to increase user satisfaction,” said Sem Chong, CEO and Founder of Carmen Automotive.

Carmen Automotive has previously raised a seed round from ​TRIVE​.

The firm is looking to raise its Series A within the next 12 months.

SSV is an investment fund set up in Singapore and is one of the Seeds Capital appointed partner and is managed by Silicon Solution Partners.

As the investment arm of Enterprise Singapore, SEEDS Capital supports the growth of promising Singapore-based startups. It focuses on startups in nascent and strategic industries such as advanced manufacturing & engineering (AME), health & biomedical sciences (HBMS), and urban sustainability & solutions (USS). It also looks at other emerging technologies such as fintech, Artificial Intelligence, and agritech.

Currently, SEEDS work with more than 500 deeptech startups, and over 40 incubators, accelerators and VC firms.

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