PR85178

TAIPEI, Aug. 19, 2020 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/--

The fund injection will propel iKala's R&D investment, drive innovation in AI

technologies to propel digital transformation and build integrated solutions

for new retail in Southeast Asia and beyond

iKala(https://ikala.tv/), Asia's leading AI company headquartered in Taiwan,

has raised US$17M in a Series B round of funding led by Wistron Digital

Technology Holding Company, a Wistron Corporation's wholly-owned subsidiary

which focuses on digital technology industries and software application related

investments. Previous investors Hotung Investment Holdings Limited and Pacific

Venture Partners are also coming in, showing confidence in iKala's practical AI

and digital solutions and SEA cross-border operational efficiency.

Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20200818/2888453-1

The latest round of funding takes the company's total funding to US$30.3

million and will be used to further fuel iKala's AI and digital technologies

innovation. Equally, it signals the company's expansion into new markets

including Indonesia and Malaysia, while strengthening its position in its

existing key markets of Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Philippines,

Vietnam and Japan.

This strategic investment marks the lead investor Wistron Digital Technology

Holding Company, which also focuses on big data analytics, entry into Southeast

Asia. Together, both companies are confident of propelling the region's digital

transformation journey forward and facilitate the development of Artificial

Intelligence technology and software.

"We've been on a strong growth trajectory over the last couple of years,

expanding into new markets and developing cutting-edge technology that has put

us in a leading position in the region's digital transformation and commerce

space. With this funding, we look forward to exploring new opportunities in AI

commerce beyond our existing markets," said Sega Cheng, co-founder and CEO of

iKala.

"Taiwan has an excellent reputation for having some of the best high tech

talents in both hardware and software around the region. With Wistron as a

strategic partner, iKala can become a major driving force for transforming

Taiwan into an AI industry and talent hub in Asia," said Dr. Lee-Feng Chien,

iKala's board member, former Google Taiwan managing director, who joined

earlier this year.

"As part of the Fortune Global 500 and as a TSP (Technical Service Provider)

company, iKala's AI and software capabilities will be a value-adding element to

Wistron's long-held and leading hardware industry presence. We have heavily

invested ourselves in digital transformation and further creation of new

business to provide our clients with new opportunities brought by digital

transformation," said Robert Hwang, Vice Chairman & President of New Business,

Wistron.

Following its exceptional growth in the cloud and digital transformation

industry since Series A round of funding early last year, iKala established a

new division in June: iKala Commerce. The new solution consolidates AI-powered

influencer database KOL Radar, and AI social commerce solution Shoplus, to

provide an integrated solution and holistic customer data insights for the

region's social commerce players.

SOURCE  iKala