Singapore startups win big at Global FinTech Hackcelerator

SINGAPORE – A two-month-old company that uses artificial intelligence (AI) driven analytics to spot inappropriate trading activity and clamp down on suspicious activities before they have a chance to take place.

A two-year-old startup that helps health and life insurance companies personalise products and services by using app and device data.

These two Singaporean firms emerged winners yesterday at the Global FinTech Hackcelerator, after beating more than 650 submissions from 50 countries. Organised as part of the inaugural Singapore FinTech Festival, the Hackcelerator saw 19 finalists use innovative technology to create market-ready FinTech solutions for the industry. As part of the top three winners, the Singapore firms will each receive a cash prize of S$50,000. The other winner, from Thailand, created a mobile banking application for the visually impaired.

AIDA Technologies, founded by former A*STAR senior fellow Dr Tan Geok Leng two months ago, uses predictive analytics and intelligent systems to help monitor the behaviour of traders, changing the capabilities that banks and insurance companies have in their risk and compliance strategies.

Through AIDA Technologies’ solutions, managers will be able to have a more all-rounded view of their traders’ behaviour on the floor, monitor for any behavioural changes and screen social networks to see who their traders are connected to and if there have been any suspicious activity surrounding their recent connections.

“Banks are putting in rules, but rules are not working … What you need is something more intelligent and more adaptable. Using capability to note transaction data, we allow the detection of something that could go wrong before it happens,” said Dr Tan, who was previously executive director for the Institute for Infocomm Research.

Dr Tan, together with his team of fewer than 10 people, left their professional day jobs to focus on their new startup.

The win yesterday, said Dr Tan, is a validation of the team’s abilities and the value of their product. He added that the company is currently in discussions with some banks, insurance companies and fast moving consumer goods companies to help them better understand their company through the use of their product.

Analytics start-up FitSense, the other Singaporean startup to emerge winner yesterday, hopes to be able to make more inroads in their home base.

“For us, winning the prize is great. We are a Singaporean company and when we started out (two years ago) we received more traction in Europe instead of in Singapore. Now that there is this validation here, we look forward to more discussions with potential clients in Singapore and the region,” said Fitsense co-founder Mr Jan-Philipp Kruip.