The latest round of investment brings iKala’s total funding to over US$30 million
Taiwanese artificial intelligence (AI)-based digital transformation startup iKala has raised US$17 million in a Series B round of financing, the startup announced in a statement yesterday.
The round was led by Wistron Digital Technology Holding Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Wistron Corporation, which focuses on digital technology industries and software application related investments.
Existing investors Hotung Investment Holdings Limited and Pacific Venture Partners also participated in iKala’s latest round of fundraising, the statement noted.
The startup had previously raised $10 milion in its Series A+ funding round in 2019, and the latest round brings its total capital to $30.3 million, according to the statement.
The startup will use the fresh funds to fuel its AI and digital technologies innovation, and expand into new markets, including Indonesia and Malaysia.
Founded in 2019, iKala helps businesses adopt AI solutions with the goal of improving product value, optimizing business efficiency, and building long-term competitive advantages, according to the company website.
In June last year, iKala introduced iKala Commerce in its product suite. The new solution consolidates the AI-powered influencer database KOL Radar, and the AI social commerce solution Shoplus, to provide an integrated solution and holistic customer data insights for the region’s social commerce players.
“We’ve been on a strong growth trajectory over the last couple of years, expanding into new markets and developing cutting-edge technology that has put us in a leading position in the region’s digital transformation and commerce space,” Co-founder and CEO of iKala, Sega Cheng said.
“With this funding, we look forward to exploring new opportunities in AI commerce beyond our existing markets,” he added.
“Taiwan has an excellent reputation for having some of the best high tech talents in both hardware and software around the region. With Wistron as a strategic partner, iKala can become a major driving force for transforming Taiwan into an AI industry and talent hub in Asia,” former Managing Director of Google Taiwan and iKala board member, Dr Lee-Feng Chien said.
Robert Hwang, Vice Chairman and President of New Business, Wistron said, “As part of the Fortune Global 500 and as a TSP (Technical Service Provider) company, iKala’s AI and software capabilities will be a value-adding element to Wistron’s long-held and leading hardware industry presence.”
“We have heavily invested ourselves in digital transformation and further creation of new business to provide our clients with new opportunities brought by digital transformation,” he added.
Header image courtesy of iKala
