TL;DR
Singapore-based Hupo, originally a mental wellness startup, refocused on AI-driven sales coaching for banks, insurers and financial services. The company closed a $10M Series A led by DST Global Partners and says its product is gaining traction across APAC and Europe.
What happened
Hupo began life as Ami, a platform built around mental resilience and habit change. Over four years founder Justin Kim redirected the company toward real-time AI sales coaching for the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector, arguing the core issue was performance at scale rather than motivation. Meta participated in Hupo’s seed round and the startup has since trained its models on financial products, common objections and regulatory requirements to fit into frontline workflows. Hupo announced a $10 million Series A led by DST Global Partners with participation from Collaborative Fund, Goodwater Capital, January Capital and Strong Ventures, bringing total capital raised to $15 million since 2022. The Singapore-headquartered company now serves dozens of customers across APAC and Europe — including Prudential, AXA, Manulife, HSBC, Bank of Ireland and Grab — and plans a U.S. expansion in the first half of this year while further developing real-time coaching and enterprise deployments.
Why it matters
- AI that coaches in real time could scale consistent training across large, distributed sales teams where traditional coaching can’t reach everyone.
- BFSI is highly regulated and complex; tools trained on domain-specific products and rules may be more acceptable to enterprise buyers.
- Investor interest and Series A funding validate demand for workflow-integrated AI in financial sales channels.
- Early customer expansion metrics suggest enterprise adoption can lead to rapid contract growth within months.
Key facts
- Founder and CEO: Justin Kim, who previously worked at Bloomberg and Viva Republica (Toss).
- Hupo was originally launched as a mental wellness startup called Ami focused on performance and resilience.
- Series A: $10 million led by DST Global Partners; participants included Collaborative Fund, Goodwater Capital, January Capital and Strong Ventures.
- Total funding raised since founding in 2022: $15 million.
- Headquartered in Singapore and serving dozens of customers across APAC and Europe.
- Named customers include Prudential, AXA, Manulife, HSBC, Bank of Ireland and Grab.
- Company reports typical customer contract expansion of 3–8x within the first six months.
- Planned priorities for the new capital: expand product (including real-time coaching), scale enterprise deployments and grow the team and go-to-market efforts.
- Hupo trained its models on financial products, typical client objections and regulatory requirements to better fit BFSI workflows.
What to watch next
- Execution of Hupo’s planned U.S. expansion in the first half of this year and early enterprise wins there.
- Rollout and adoption rates of the company’s real-time coaching features across existing customers.
- Hupo’s roadmap to broaden beyond sales coaching into wider team performance tools over the next five years.
Quick glossary
- AI sales coaching: Software that uses artificial intelligence to analyze sales conversations and provide feedback or guidance to improve seller performance.
- BFSI: Banking, Financial Services and Insurance — an industry grouping used to describe financial-sector companies and their related services.
- Series A: An early stage of venture capital financing typically used to scale product development, hire staff and expand go-to-market efforts.
- Real-time coaching: Tools that provide guidance or feedback during live interactions, such as sales calls, rather than after-the-fact analysis.
Reader FAQ
What did Hupo start as?
The company began as Ami, a mental wellness platform focused on performance and habit change.
How much did Hupo raise in this round and who led it?
Hupo raised $10 million in a Series A led by DST Global Partners, with several other investors participating.
Which customers does Hupo serve?
The startup works with dozens of customers in APAC and Europe, including Prudential, AXA, Manulife, HSBC, Bank of Ireland and Grab.
Is Hupo planning to expand to the U.S.?
Yes — the founder said the company will expand into the U.S. in the first half of this year.
Is Hupo profitable or what are its revenues?
not confirmed in the source
When Justin Kim, co-founder and CEO of Hupo, first launched his company about four years ago, it wasn’t selling AI-powered sales coaching to banks, finance services, or insurance companies. The…
Sources
- Meta-backed Hupo finds growth after pivot to AI sales coaching from mental wellness
- Meta-backed Hupo finds growth after pivot to AI sales …
- A Curated List of Precision Medicine News – enlightenbio Blog
- Proceedings-68th-Annual-Convention-2022.pdf
Related posts
- Over 100 VC-backed tech startups reached unicorn status in 2025
- Aukey Basix Plus — a $21, 20,000mAh power bank with four ports
- Google pulls some AI health summaries after probe finds dangerous errors