Singapore robo-advisory startup raises seed funding to hunt for clients in Asia

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The rise of the robots is making some people uneasy, but investors aren’t part of that group. At least not the investors behind a US$400,000 seed investment into robo-advisor startup Bambu. The funding comes from angel investors in Singapore and from mobile technology company Tigerspike, which is also a partner of Bambu.

The Singapore-based startup is building robo-advisors for the financial sector. It has a business-to-business (B2B) model where it provides its tools to companies according to their needs.

Bambu offers three different products: one for savings, one for investments, and one for private banking. It has been operating for five months now and has signed up two clients, one of whom is Thomson Reuters.

The startup will use the funding for staffing up, product development, and pursuing more clients across several markets, founder and CEO Ned Phillips tells Tech in Asia. The team is preparing to launch its private banking product with Thomson Reuters, and that will be used in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Tokyo. It’s also talking to potential clients in Malaysia.

Ned has worked in Asia for the past 25 years, and his CV includes serving as managing director for financial services company E-Trade and consulting for stock trading and robo-advisory company 8 Securities.

Running business-to-consumer platforms involves significant challenges like customer acquisition costs and getting over regulatory hurdles, Ned notes. Bambu’s B2B approach means it can grow faster in different markets.

To grow further, the startup plans to engage corporate clients with a large user base, like telcos and consumer brands, to help them offer financial products to their customers.

Robo-advisory services for financial products is a growing market in Asia, and Bambu is one of the first companies trying to get a piece of the pie. For example, Hong Kong-based Quantifeed – which raised its series A round in July – focuses on wealth management tech while Singapore-based Smartly aims at investment advice for millennials.

Bambu’s edge lies in targeting different applications with their products. “A lot of [robo-advisors] have one product with a specific target,” Ned says. Bambu’s product diversity allows it to target more potential applications and a larger pool of clients.

The startup has so far generated about US$300,000 in revenue in the last five months from its first two clients and Ned sees a lot of potential for growth. “Most financial firms understand that [robo-advisors] are here, so they are either trying to build their own or understand them better.”