Chinese fintech WeLab announced on Thursday it secured $156 million through its Series C funding round. According to WeLab, the investment attracted new investors, as well as five existing investors including Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund and China Construction Bank.
Founded in 2013, WeLab claims to be one of the first virtual banks established in Hong Kong. The company provides financial services by creating digital experiences to move than 40 million users across Hong Kong, Mainland China, and Indonesia.
“Using its proprietary risk management technology and advanced AI capabilities, WeLab effectively analyzes unstructured mobile big data within seconds to provide innovative financial services and offer consumer financing solutions for individual customers. The company also offers B2B enterprise solutions by partnering with traditional financial institutions, which utilize WeLab’s technology to offer fintech-enabled services to their customers.”
The investment round comes just a little over six months after WeLab was approved by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) to receive a virtual banking license. At the time, this is the fourth license for a virtual bank which is now approved to operate in Hong Kong since a consultation on digital banking took place in 2018. Speaking about the investment round, Simon Loong, Founder and CEO of WeLab, stated:
“This financing will be used to further develop and broaden our platform as a fintech enabler. Further investment into technology research and development, will enable us to apply these innovative technologies around the region to roll out additional products and services for our customers to provide holistic financial services digitally.”
Loong went on to add:
“With technological advancement, fintech has gradually been integrated into our daily lives over the last decade, transforming the traditional world of banking as we know it. 2020 marks the inflexion point where the calls for supervision and governance are necessary, starting with regulated digital banks.”