Singapore: AI startup impress.ai closes $1.2m seed round led by Reapra

Pedestrians walk past an office tower in the central business district in Singapore, on Friday, April 27, 2018. Photographer: Paul Miller/Bloomberg

By Kristie Neo

September 28, 2018

Singapore-based AI startup, impress.ai has closed a $1.2 million seed round led by venture builder, Reapra, the company announced.

The company plans to use the proceeds to fund market expansion plans, enhance its product, and create chatbots which speak Mandarin and Japanese.

impress.ai is building an AI powered chatbot platform for recruiters. Their conversational bots autonomously interviews and shortlists candidates 24/7, and promises to do so more quickly and objectively. impress.ai’s clients include DBS Bank, NTUC Income, and Singtel – all companies which receive high volumes of job applications.

Sudhanshu Ahuja, CEO and co-founder of impress.ai said, “Many businesses acknowledge that the early stages of the hiring process are where good candidates drop out of the recruitment funnel. Using virtual recruitment chatbots is one way to overcome this; chatbots can immediately launch into interacting with candidates with endless enthusiasm. impress.ai uses deep learning algorithms to make sense of an applicant’s answers and respond in an accurate, realistic way. In addition to AI and machine learning, the platform combines principles of I/O psychology to evaluate candidates based on their competency level and domain expertise.”

impress.ai also intends to embark on its Series A round in the next few months to bring in additional capital which would enable the Singaporean company to expand globally.

Singapore Reporter/s

In Singapore, we are looking to double our reporting team by this year-end to comprehensively cover the fast-moving world of funded startups and VC, PE & M&A deals. We want reporters who can tell our readers what is really happening in these sectors and why it matters to markets, companies and consumers. The ability to write precisely and urgently is crucial for these roles. Ideal candidates must have to ability to work in a collaborative, dynamic, and fast-changing environment. We want our new hires to be digitally savvy and ready to experiment with new forms of storytelling. Most importantly, we are looking for hard-hitting reporters who work well in a team. Collaboration and collegiality are a must.

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).   

  • A reporter to track companies/startups that have raised private capital, and have the potential to become unicorns. SEA currently has over 40 companies with a valuation of over $100 million and under $1 billion.
  • A reporter who can get behind the scenes and reveal how funding rounds are put together, or why they’ve failed to materialise. She/he in this role will largely focus on long-format stories. 
  • A journalist to track special situations funds, distressed debt and private credit (from the PE angle) across Asia.
APPLY NOW

Singapore Reporter/s

In Singapore, we are looking to double our reporting team by this year-end to comprehensively cover the fast-moving world of funded startups and VC, PE & M&A deals. We want reporters who can tell our readers what is really happening in these sectors and why it matters to markets, companies and consumers. The ability to write precisely and urgently is crucial for these roles. Ideal candidates must have to ability to work in a collaborative, dynamic, and fast-changing environment. We want our new hires to be digitally savvy and ready to experiment with new forms of storytelling. Most importantly, we are looking for hard-hitting reporters who work well in a team. Collaboration and collegiality are a must.

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).   

  • A reporter to track companies/startups that have raised private capital, and have the potential to become unicorns. SEA currently has over 40 companies with a valuation of over $100 million and under $1 billion.
  • A reporter who can get behind the scenes and reveal how funding rounds are put together, or why they’ve failed to materialise. She/he in this role will largely focus on long-format stories. 
  • A journalist to track special situations funds, distressed debt and private credit (from the PE angle) across Asia.
APPLY NOW