Fano Labs, the Hong Kong provider of performance language artificial intelligence (AI) solutions, has on Thursday announced the successful closure of its Series B round.
Openspace Ventures, a venture capital firm in Southeast Asia, led the investment round, with participation from HSBC and Greater Good Investment, the family office of Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Lo, and existing shareholders, Fano Labs said in a statement.
With this new funding, Fano Labs will expand its footprint in further markets through the establishment of an office in Singapore, which will serve as the hub for international clients.
Additionally, further investment will go into developing the product, with a focus on adding more APAC languages and launching its suite of large language model (LLM) products.
With the latest funding secured and strategic expansion plans underway, Fano Labs said it is in a prime position to grow in new international markets and continue its journey of innovation, solidifying its position as a global leader in language AI research and technology.
“We are thrilled to receive strong support from Openspace Ventures, HSBC, and Greater Good Investment, which will fuel our expansion into the dynamic APAC market,
“By establishing our office in Singapore and leveraging our expertise in multilingual and mixed-language speech recognition, we are well-positioned to drive innovation and deliver impactful solutions that address the evolving needs of our customers in the APAC region,” said Dr. Miles Wen, the Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Fano Labs.
Fano Labs is a performance language solution provider that uses AI to develop specialized automatic speech recognition, speaker diarization, voice biometrics, speech synthesis and natural language processing technologies for enterprise and public sector organizations.
Founded in 2015 as a spin-off from the University of Hong Kong and incubated by the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, the firm has achieved significant milestones in securing enterprise clients in both private and public sectors, including HSBC, Citibank, DBS Hong Kong, Hang Seng Bank, The Bank of East Asia, Cathay, China Mobile Hong Kong, amongst others.
“Fano Labs’ dedication to innovation and its proven track record in the AI space make them an exciting investment opportunity,
“We believe that Fano’s expansion into the APAC market will unlock new avenues for growth and reinforce its position as a leader in the industry,” said Jessica Huang Pouleur, Partner, Openspace Ventures.
Ian Glasner, Group Head of Innovation, Ventures, and Digital Partnerships at HSBC said that artificial intelligence presents enormous opportunities to improve the way they work and how they serve their customers.
“Our investment is underpinned by a belief that Fano Labs’ Voice AI technology can drive major improvements in key banking operations and customer servicing quality,
“We are proud to be supporting the Hong Kong tech ecosystem and we look forward to witnessing Fano Labs’ continued success,” he added.
Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Lo, directors of Greater Good Investment, said that Fano Labs has consistently demonstrated its commitment to innovation and pioneering technologies for its clients.
“We are excited to be part of this dynamic and promising venture,” they added.