Akros Technologies, an AI-powered asset management platform, raises funding from Z Holdings • TechCrunch
Artificial intelligence is taking over almost every industry. The investment and finance industry is no exception. In Deloitte’s 2019 reportThe company revealed that AI is transforming the financial ecosystem to reduce costs and make operations more efficient by providing automated insights and alternative data, analytics, and risk management.
Technology like AI has digitized the financial sector, from payments and remittances to lending. However, wealth management is still in the infancy of digitalisation, according to the chief strategy officer and co-founder of the company. Akros . TechnologyTan Chung.
Akros Technologies wants to disrupt the current wealth management industry through an AI-driven asset management software platform to mine market data for stocks. Akros just raised $2.3 million from Venture Capital Zventure capital of a company wholly owned by Z CorporationThe company also owns the Japanese messaging app Line and the internet portal Yahoo Japan.
Akros intends to strengthen its strategic relationship with Z Holdings through strategic investment, the startup said. The latest funding, which brings Akros’ total raised to $6.1 million since its inception in 2021, will help Akros scale its software platform and wealth management products , while increasing users, including local and global financial institutions as well as fintech companies.
This outfit has been in discussions with potential partners to expand an AI-powered product called portfolio management as a service or PMaaS, an all-in-one operating system for portfolio management. Chung explained to TechCrunch that PMaaS “enables B2B clients like financial institutions, fintech startups, and robotic advisors to launch themselves.” exchange-traded funds (ETFs) without the need to set up ETF pools and infrastructure.”
He added that they expect to secure more than five B2B customers in the first quarter of 2023.
The startup claims that its AI-powered portfolio management platform can reduce “overall cost structure” [of] traditional fund development,” including management fees and unnecessary fees related to the investment process, increased by more than 80%. This outfit aims to maximize the financial management performance of data-driven ETFs and provide a portfolio management solution via PMaaS to Akros users to help them compete with other companies. global ETF institutions like Vanguard or JPMorgan.
In August, Technology Content given Korean pop music, also known as K-pop and Korea Entertainment ETF, on the NYSE Arca Exchange under the ticker KPOP, uses Akros’ PMaaS solution to develop the ETF. Additionally, Akros listed an AI-driven target earnings ETF, called the Akros Monthly Payout ETF (ticker: MPAY), on the NYSE in May with a monthly distribution at an annual target rate of 7. %, according to the startup.
To build a range of investment strategies that reduce portfolio modeling costs and generate multiple portfolios, Akros applies a general AI model based on decision transformerpredict future actions through sequencing models, Chung said, adding that the company also uses GPT-3 natural language processing (NLP) to analyze unstructured language data.
Akros plans to continuously enhance its engineering technology by driving business to disrupt the asset management market and attract new partners globally, including Japan, Singapore and the United States. Ky, co-founder and chief executive officer Kyle Moon said in a statement.
Founded by CEO Moon, CSO Jin and chief marketing officer Justin Gim, Akros has seven people.
Akros Technologies Co-Founders: (Left to Right) Justin Gim, Kyle Moon and Jin Chung. Image credits: Akros . Technology
Moon previously worked for Qraft Technologies as head of AI research and CSO and has experience listing four ETFs on the NYSE. Prior to co-founding Akros, Gim had over 9 years of experience in the wealth management industry; Chung has studied Bayesian deep learning in self-driving cars at the Oxford Robotics Institute.
In March, Akros raised $3.75 million from PeopleFund, a Korean peer-to-peer lending platform. The company declined to provide a valuation when asked.
