Pang Xue Kai, Founder and CEO, Untukmu.AI
Untukmu.AI, a startup based in Singapore that specializes in providing AI solutions for the gifting industry, recently secured an undisclosed amount in a seed funding round from 1982 Ventures and angel investors to expand its operations in Indonesia.
The platform offers various tools such as a gift tracker, budgeting tool, and events calendar to enhance user experience. Additionally, its AI-powered dashboard enables merchants to manage and boost sales, gain valuable insights into customer preferences, optimize their product offerings, and personalize the shopping experience.
e27 had a conversation with Untukmu Founder and CEO Pang Xue Kai, a serial entrepreneur who previously founded Tokocrypto, a prominent crypto exchange in Indonesia, to delve deeper into the business.
Below are edited excerpts:
What motivated you to start Untukmu.AI, and what market gap are you trying to fill with your AI solutions for the gifting industry?
My co-founder, Pang Xue Cong, and I identified the challenges and time-consuming nature of online gift-giving, leading to missed opportunities in celebrating significant moments. We launched Untukmu.AI to simplify and enhance the gift selection process by leveraging artificial intelligence.
Also Read: Tokocrypto founder’s new AI startup Untukmu bags funding to disrupt Indonesia’s personalised gifting market
The platform is designed to deeply understand the recipients’ preferences and interests, making the act of gift-giving thoughtful, personalized, and efficient.
Can you explain the features of the gift tracker, budgeting tool, and events calendar on the platform?
The gift tracker helps users keep track of the gifts they have sent and the reactions they have received. It ensures a personalized touch in gifting, preventing repetition of gifts and making future choices more informed.
The budgeting tool assists users in effectively managing their gifting expenses. By setting budgets for different occasions and receiving suggestions within specified price ranges, users can ensure that gift-giving remains joyful and stress-free.
The events calendar ensures users never miss important occasions. By integrating personal, cultural, and widely celebrated events in a user-friendly interface, the tool reminds users of upcoming dates that may require a gift. This proactive approach helps users plan ahead and eliminate last-minute rushes.
How does the AI-powered dashboard support merchants in increasing sales and managing their businesses?
The dashboard provides in-depth insights into customer preferences and behavior. By analyzing interactions and purchasing patterns, it identifies trends in gift preferences, timing, and budgets, enabling merchants to tailor their offerings and marketing strategies more effectively.
The dashboard aims to boost sales and create meaningful connections between businesses and customers by aligning gifts with company values and customer expectations.
In addition, Untukmu.AI is developing an omnichannel platform to help Indonesian merchants expand their reach globally, further enhancing their sales and market presence.
A press release mentions your exploration of leveraging blockchain and crypto tokens to reward users. How do you envision implementing this technology on the Untukmu.AI platform?
Rewarding participation: Users can earn tokens for various forms of engagement, such as reviews, product recommendations, and sharing experiences. This encourages active community participation and improves the quality of data that drives AI recommendations.
Decentralised trust: Implementing a decentralized trust mechanism ensures transparency in transactions and interactions, creating a secure environment for users and merchants.
Enhanced user experience: Crypto tokens within the Untukmu.AI ecosystem can be used for purchasing gifts, accessing premium features, and availing special discounts. This adds value to the tokens, making participation on the platform more rewarding.
This integration emphasizes the 3Cs — consent, compensation, and credit — to ensure ethical data use and community engagement:
Consent: Prioritizing voluntary participation and informed decision-making to ensure contributors understand how their data is used and the associated benefits and risks.
Compensation: Providing fair rewards and potentially implementing a licensing model for cultural and linguistic data use to ensure equitable compensation for contributions.
Credit: Properly acknowledging contributions, whether for AI data or cultural expressions, and working towards preserving and promoting cultural heritage and languages.
This approach aims to revolutionize the gifting industry and build a platform based on trust, equity, and cultural respect, setting new standards in e-commerce and AI landscapes.
How does Untukmu.AI plan to collaborate with small businesses, corporations, and self-employed professionals to cater to their diverse gifting needs and preferences?
For small businesses and self-employed professionals, Untukmu.AI is exploring partnership programs to showcase their products on the platform. This not only expands their audience but also enriches the gift variety available to users, making it easier to find unique and meaningful options.
For corporations, Untukmu.AI aims to develop dedicated Corporate dashboards for efficient management of gifting needs by HR departments and managers. This includes employee recognition, client outreach, and other corporate events, with features for tracking spending, preferences, and feedback.
Integration with Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS) is also being considered to streamline the employee recognition process, allowing companies to reward employees with personalized gifts through a familiar HRIS interface.
Engaging with the business community for feedback and insights is essential. Regular sessions are planned with small businesses, corporations, and professionals to better understand their needs and tailor the platform accordingly.
Support resources will be provided to help businesses and professionals navigate the platform, aiming to be a versatile platform that meets diverse gifting needs and supports small businesses in gaining visibility and growth.
What lessons have you learned from Tokocrypto, and do you see a potential partnership with Tokocrypto in the future?
One crucial lesson learned from Tokocrypto is the importance of community engagement and listening to users for growth and improvement. This is being integrated into Untukmu.AI to create a community that feels valued and heard.
Operating in the crypto space highlighted the significance of navigating regulatory environments adeptly. This understanding is essential as blockchain technology is explored within Untukmu.AI to ensure compliance with laws while driving innovation.
Also Read: Tokocrypto-BRI Ventures accelerator invests US$40M in participating startups
In the crypto realm, security is paramount. Building robust security measures and maintaining user trust are principles instilled from this experience, foundational to Untukmu.AI.
The dynamic nature of the blockchain industry emphasizes the need for constant innovation and adaptability.
Regarding a potential partnership with Tokocrypto, synergies exist that could benefit both platforms. Leveraging Tokocrypto’s blockchain expertise could enhance transaction security and efficiency on Untukmu.AI. Collaboration could introduce new token utility and rewards, enriching the user experience on both platforms.
The prospect of partnering with Tokocrypto is exciting, potentially merging past and present ventures and paving the way for innovative solutions at the intersection of AI, e-commerce, and blockchain technology.
Why was the company incorporated in Singapore? Is it for ease of doing business? How is Indonesia evolving as a startup nation?
Singapore was chosen for Untukmu.AI’s incorporation due to its favorable business environment, strong regulatory framework, and accessibility to investors, leveraging the founders’ deep understanding as Singaporeans.
While Indonesia offers a large market and supportive startup ecosystem, regulatory challenges initially led to Singapore incorporation.
Also Read: Tokocrypto, BRI Ventures launch blockchain accelerator programme
However, optimism surrounds Indonesia’s potential as a startup nation, especially with recent government initiatives aimed at enhancing the digital economy and startup landscape.
Anticipated reforms that streamline operations and attract foreign investment could further invigorate Indonesia’s startup scene.
What are your expectations from the new government and President of Indonesia?
Expectations from the new government and President include continued focus on digital economy growth, measures to foster innovation, support startups, and create a conducive business environment. Simplifying regulations, offering startup incentives, and investing in digital infrastructure would collectively boost Indonesia’s startup ecosystem.
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