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Hello there,
I remember the first time I entered a Sephora store. I was young and was in the US for a work and travel program. I hardly wore any makeup then, and stepping into the shop, the large selection of makeup products on display was dazzling.
Years later, I was surprised to learn that it was an illusion. The products decked onto Sephora shelves were in fact owned by just a handful of brands.
Bobbi Brown, MAC, and Estee Lauder, for instance, are all owned by Estee Lauder, while Kat Von D and Fenty belong to the LVMH family, which also owns the Sephora stores. You get the drift.
As consumers, we rarely think about the companies behind brand names.
Which is why even though many of us might be familiar with Atome, the buy now, pay later (BNPL) service that’s pervading our shopping experiences, few of us would know Advance Intelligence Group, Atome’s parent firm which entered unicorn territory last month.
In this week’s big story, we take the lid off the enigmatic company behind Atome. Advance Intelligence operates a host of businesses, from alternative credit scoring, risk management, merchant software services, to digital lending. What’s driving its fast growth and which are its largest markets? You’ll have to read on to find out.
— Melissa
THE BIG STORY
The enigmatic unicorn behind BNPL firm Atome
Image credit: Timmy Loen
Advance Intelligence Group has quietly grown in five years, and its headcount now stands at 1,500. We unpack what makes the Singapore-headquartered firm tick. After reading this story, one thing will be clear: The era of pure BNPL players may be coming to an end.
DEEP READ
1️⃣ Key Southeast Asia fintech trends in 2021
VCs love publishing presentations. Singapore’s Cento Ventures is one of them, and their take on fintech trends in Southeast Asia is worth checking out.
TRENDING NEWS
STARTUP WATCH
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