Financial asset startup Fount has secured 3.8 billion won (USD $3.51 million) in a Series A funding round made up of Korea Investment Partners, KT Investment, and Smilegate Investment.
Fount is a robo-advisor company that offers customized financial portfolios – tailored to each customer via machine learning technology and asset allocation algorithms. According to the company, its robo-advisor engine – named Bluewhale – calculates the optimum combination of assets by combining financial engineering technology with asset allocation theories. Bluewhale then monitors the financial markets around the globe, allocating assets based on market changes through ‘dynamic rebalancing’.
The company says that it will use the latest investment to upgrade its financial algorithms by strengthening its artificial intelligence capabilities.
The only Korean startup to receive investment from three large financial firms, Fount previously received seed funding of 1.2 billion won (USD $0.99 million) from Woori Bank, IBK Industrial Bank, Smilegate, and Innopolis in November 2016. The company currently has a consortium with Woori Bank and IBK Industrial Bank to operate a testbed of six algorithms, the largest number among Korean robo-advisor firms.
“Fount’s consecutive investments in a short period of time show that the industry is paying attention to the growth of the robo-advistor sector,” said Young-bin Kim, CEO of Fount. “With our testbed ending this year, we’ll be doing our best to offer the best robo-advisor service to our customers within the first-half of the year.”
