Gtriip secures Series B funding to scale AI business in Asia-Pacific

Gtriip has finalized its Series B funding round, and plans to use the investment to expand its biometric digital identity software business operations in hospitality and commercial properties across Asia-Pacific, the company announced.

The newest firm to invest in the Singapore-based startup is Japanese VC firm Global Brain, through the KDDI Open Innovation Fund No. 3 (KOIF), which is responsible for investments made by Japanese telecommunications operator KDDI Corporation. In the investment round also participated Kepventure Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of Keppel Corporation, a Singaporean multi-business company focused on sustainable urbanization, and Japanese VC company Accord Ventures.

After setting up its first office in Singapore in June 2019, this is the first investment KOIF has made. For nearly two years now, the global fund has been actively investing in startups in Singapore in Indonesia.

The region faces an aging population, and AI would help hotels increase staff productivity by automating tasks such as check-ins and identify verification.

“We are grateful to have the investors’ belief and continued support in Gtriip business,” said Maxim Tint, Founder and CEO of Gtriip. “The investment aligns with our vision to grow further in Asia Pacific Market. It is an ideal opportunity to showcase the value in seamlessly checking-in a large number of travelers using their own smartphones.”

He added, “Gtriip is a software-as-a-service product that requires no additional hardware. This makes it inherently more scalable and sustainable for properties, who can enjoy the full benefits of automated check-ins without incurring extra capital expenditure. A software-as-a-service solution also produces less carbon footprint and is more environmentally friendly than physical identity solutions, such as plastic ID and access cards, or hardware kiosks.”

Gtriip is considering the investment for new product lines in varied verticals, not just hospitality, but, for example, solutions for tenant and visitor access. To achieve growth plans, the company will hire more developers, engineers, researchers, client success specialists and sales team members.

“Payment is already becoming mainstream on mobile, but there are still a few things that we must carry physically — photo ID, driving license, and keys,” said Huang Siheng, co-founder and CTO of Gtriip.
“Gtriip envisions and believes in a future where people can travel without any photo ID or access card. Our face and biometrics suffice as our identity. Once we have this in place, geographical mobility can become seamless. It is the guiding mission behind our digital identity platform.”

In its series A funding round, Gtriip raised $1 million from connectivity solutions provider M1, an investment used to deliver their hotel product for hospitality customers in Singapore and Macau, including the Park Hotel Group, Amara Hotel Group, and other casinos and resorts.

Gtriip was founded in 2014 and currently has 20 employees. The company boasts it has completed installations for more than 13,000 rooms and access points, and enabled more than 1 million digital identity check-ins.

Article Topics

Asia  |  biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  casinos  |  digital identity  |  facial recognition  |  funding  |  GTRIIP  |  investment