Anti-money Laundering Software Startup Tookitaki Raises $11.7 Million in Series A Funding

The company is planning its next fundraising in early 2021, its CEO told Entrepreneur Asia Pacific

By Aparajita Saxena | Nov 26, 2019
Shutterstock

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

You're reading Entrepreneur Asia Pacific, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

Anti-money laundering software maker Tookitaki has raised $11.7 million from a series A funding round led by Viola Fintech, and SIG Asia Investment, among others, and said it plans to raise its next round in early 2021.

The Singapore-based company that develops machine learning-based financial compliance software said the funds it raised will be used to drive its expansion into the U.S. and Europe – the next markets the company is targeting.

“..we are in active engagements with a number of financial institutions in the US,” Tookitaki’s chief executive officer, Abhishek Chatterjee, told Entrepreneur Asia Pacific in an interview.

The company said the lack of brand visibility and difficulty in hiring local talent were some of the impediments it was facing expanding to the U.S.

Navigating the country’s stringent financial regulations was another.

“One issue that regulated firms face is that they need to explain to their regulators how the systems they use make determinations. This is not easy with systems that use machine learning, which sometimes resemble the proverbial “black box’,” Chatterjee said.

But a positive pilot execution with one of its partners helped the company prove its model to the regulators.

In Singapore, Tookitaki has partnered with one of the country’s biggest banks, United Overseas, to develop a next-gen anti-money laundering compliance solution.

The company is yet to generate a profit, it told Entrepreneur Asia Pacific, but its revenue has increased over 300 per cent over the last two years.

Apart from expanding into the U.S. and Europe, Tookitaki said it will look to grow its research and development teams in Singapore and India, it said in a press release, and appointed former LinkedIn director, Subhas Samanta, as vice president of R&D.

Along with the current investment, the company has raised $20.5 million in over seven funding rounds, according to Crunchbase. Its seed round saw participation from Jungle Ventures, a prominent VC firm whose portfolio includes Pomelo, RedDoorz, and iflix.

Anti-money laundering software maker Tookitaki has raised $11.7 million from a series A funding round led by Viola Fintech, and SIG Asia Investment, among others, and said it plans to raise its next round in early 2021.

The Singapore-based company that develops machine learning-based financial compliance software said the funds it raised will be used to drive its expansion into the U.S. and Europe – the next markets the company is targeting.

“..we are in active engagements with a number of financial institutions in the US,” Tookitaki’s chief executive officer, Abhishek Chatterjee, told Entrepreneur Asia Pacific in an interview.

Aparajita Saxena

Former Deputy Associate Editor, Asia Pacific
Aparajita is Former Deputy Associate Editor for Entrepreneur Asia Pacific. She joined Entrepreneur after nearly five years with Reuters, where she chased the Asian and U.S. finance markets.At Entrepreneur Asia Pacific, she wrote about trends in the Asia Pacific startup ecosystem. She also loves to look for problems startups face in their day-to-day and tries...

Related Content

Business News

DBS Appoints Chief Credit Officer for North Asia

DBS has appointed Xu Qing as Managing Director and Senior Risk Executive for Hong Kong, and Chief Credit Officer for North Asia, according to a statement. The appointment is effective 1 February. In his new role, Xu will oversee credit and risk functions across Hong Kong, mainland China, and Taiwan, and will join the Hong […]
Business News

Hong Kong and Switzerland Hold Financial Dialogue in Bern

Hong Kong and Switzerland held the Eighth Hong Kong–Switzerland Financial Dialogue in Bern on 29 January, aimed at strengthening cooperation in financial services between the two markets. The dialogue was co-organised by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the State Secretariat for International Finance (SIF) under Switzerland’s Federal Department of Finance. It was chaired […]
Business News

Malaysia Airlines Takes Flight With Mumbai Indians as Global Airline Partner

Malaysia Airlines today announced a landmark partnership with the Mumbai Indians, India’s most successful and widely followed cricket franchise, as Associate Sponsor and Official Global Airline Partner. The collaboration marks a significant milestone in Malaysia Airlines’ sports-led brand and commercial growth strategy across priority global markets, while reaffirming India as one of the airline’s most […]
Business News

Citi Promotes Asia Corporate Banker to Global Role

Citi today announced a series of leadership appointments within its corporate banking business, reinforcing its global banking franchise and strengthening senior leadership across regions. Jason Rekate has been appointed Global Chair of Corporate Banking, and John Chirico has been named Global Chair of Investment Banking. Both will report to Viswas Raghavan, Citi’s Head of Banking […]
Business News

Advantest Selects Anaqua for Global IP Management

Advantest Corporation has selected Anaqua‘s AQX® platform to manage its global intellectual property operations, Anaqua said on Tuesday. The move comes as semiconductor companies adjust to faster development cycles driven by artificial intelligence, electrification, and next-generation devices. Advantest is seeking to standardize internal processes, streamline IP workflows across its global offices, and reduce operational complexity […]