Hello, this is your friendly AI collector

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In focus

• Meet ​​this polite AI debt collector
• ​​Klook’s upcoming US IPO puts a spotlight on its billion-dollar journey
• Boardroom drama at GoTo?

Hello reader,

Imagine this: You borrowed money some time back. Your phone rings, and you see it’s the debt collector. The voice on the other end sounds polite. When you say you’re currently driving, it replies, “Are you on hands-free? Please don’t hold your phone while driving.”

The kicker? That voice doesn’t belong to a person. It is ProAgent, an AI debt collector built by US-based startup Prodigal.

Debt collection is perhaps the last place you would expect to find empathy, and certainly not from a machine. Yet, Prodigal believes its AI can combine compassion with compliance. The system doesn’t just make calls, it listens and responds with context and never loses its cool.

For lenders, this spells efficiency. For borrowers, though, it’s a new kind of encounter, one that is both less judgmental but also less human.

In today’s featured story, we look inside how Prodigal is transforming debt collection and why its rise forces us to ask a deeper question: Can empathy be automated and should it be?

As we weigh this question, Southeast Asia’s tech world faces its own test. Major GoTo investors including SoftBank Group, Peak XV Partners, and Provident Capital are reportedly pushing to replace GoTo CEO Patrick Walujo. During his tenure at the company, the firm’s market value has tanked by over 40%.

The move could accelerate merger talks with Grab, signaling a potential shake-up in the region’s internet economy.

Samreen Ahmad, journalist

Top Story

Can this AI agent redefine debt collection?

Image credit: Arsal Ysfin

This story captures a critical moment in the evolution of AI, where automation is no longer just about efficiency but also about empathy.

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