Openspace leads latest round of HK-based language AI firm

Fano Labs co-founders Miles Wen (left) and Victor Li / Photo credit: Fano Labs

As the AI trend expands beyond the English-language sphere, there has been a growing emphasis on building AI models and tools that can support other languages.

Hong Kong-based Fano Labs is one company with that aim. Founded as a spinoff from the University of Hong Kong in 2015, the startup offers “language AI technologies” including an AI transcriber, chatbot, and voicebot that can handle conversations in multiple languages or even involve specific dialects.

After securing undisclosed investments in 2017 and 2022, Fano Labs recently completed its series B round, which was led by Openspace Ventures. HSBC, Greater Good Investment, and the family office of Hong Kong billionaire Kenneth Lo also joined the fundraise.

Fano Labs’ products support languages including English, Mandarin, Cantonese, French, and Japanese. Its clients include major financial institutions such as Citibank, DBS Hong Kong, Hang Seng Bank, and HSBC, which use the products for customer service and other areas.

With the fresh funds, Fano Labs plans to improve its products and open an office in Singapore for international clients.

One upcoming product is Callinter, a system that can rapidly analyze multiple hours of audio. This helps to identify misconduct or misselling, an especially useful function in the compliance-heavy financial services industry.

Investing in AI has become popular in Asia, and the most active backers include Antler, KB Investment, Iteractive, and KDB Bank. Global tech giants like Microsoft and Apple are also betting huge amounts on data centers and AI development in the region.

See also: How an SG regtech firm won over StanChart and HSBC with ‘ChatGPT for banks’