IKala Interactive Media Inc (愛卡拉), which uses artificial intelligence (AI) technology to help e-commerce retailers gather and analyze customer data, yesterday said it has established a new commerce division, after the COVID-19 pandemic boosted demand for online shopping, gaming and e-learning, causing its revenue to rise 45 percent annually in the first quarter.
The company is tapping into rapid-growing AI-powered social commerce — where people use social networks to sell and buy goods — in Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore, iKala said.
For instance, Facebook Shops last month introduced a way for Facebook and Instagram users to browse and purchase items without leaving the apps, as opposed to being rerouted through Amazon.com Inc.
Photo: Chen Ping-hung, Taipei Times
As people are confined at home and students are learning online, “enterprises are accelerating digitization and boosting digital marketing [to meet demand] after the pandemic broke out early this year,” iKala’s cofounder and chief executive officer Sega Cheng (程世嘉) told a news briefing in Taipei.
Online shopping, gaming and e-learning are the three areas that grew the fastest in the first quarter, at an annual pace of between 20 and 40 percent, Cheng said.
IKala counts Momo.com (富邦媒體) and Sinyi Realty Inc (信義房屋) among its customers.
Former Google Taiwan managing director Chien Lee-feng (簡立峰) joined its board of directors early this year.
Chien also serves as board director of another AI company, Appier Inc (沛星互動科技).
The new division, iKala Commerce, uses AI technology to help customers — mostly e-commerce retailers — gather personal data and access customer information to provide personalized services and customized content by recording customers’ behavior, the company said.
The company three months ago hired Alex Lin (林濬暘) to lead the new business as chief commercial officer.
With the data of 50,000 key opinion leaders, iKala also helps online retailers connect with social media personalities to sell their goods and boost sales.
Cheng said that the company expects the new social commerce business to become one of its revenue contributors.
Next year, the social commerce business is expected to make up 50 percent of the company’s revenue, Cheng said.
IKala’s cloud-based services contribute to between 60 and 70 percent of overall revenue, he added.
The new division is this year expected to generate more revenue than last year’s NT$500 million (US$16.8 million), he added.
Asked whether the company has any plans to launch an initial public offering, Cheng said that three years from now might be the right time.
IKala, which is nine years old, completed its series A funding of US$10 million earlier last year, with investments from Hotung Venture Group (和通創投), Pacific Venture Partners (怡和創投) and ACE Capital (鉑鈞資本).
The demise of the coal industry left the US’ Appalachian region in tatters, with lost jobs, spoiled water and countless kilometers of abandoned underground mines. Now entrepreneurs are eyeing the rural region with ambitious visions to rebuild its economy by converting old mines into solar power systems and data centers that could help fuel the increasing power demands of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. One such project is underway by a non-profit team calling itself Energy DELTA (Discovery, Education, Learning and Technology Accelerator) Lab, which is looking to develop energy sources on about 26,305 hectares of old coal land in
Taiwan’s exports soared 56 percent year-on-year to an all-time high of US$64.05 billion last month, propelled by surging global demand for artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance computing and cloud service infrastructure, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) called the figure an unexpected upside surprise, citing a wave of technology orders from overseas customers alongside the usual year-end shopping season for technology products. Growth is likely to remain strong this month, she said, projecting a 40 percent to 45 percent expansion on an annual basis. The outperformance could prompt the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and
Netflix on Friday faced fierce criticism over its blockbuster deal to acquire Warner Bros Discovery. The streaming giant is already viewed as a pariah in some Hollywood circles, largely due to its reluctance to release content in theaters and its disruption of traditional industry practices. As Netflix emerged as the likely winning bidder for Warner Bros — the studio behind Casablanca, the Harry Potter movies and Friends — Hollywood’s elite launched an aggressive campaign against the acquisition. Titanic director James Cameron called the buyout a “disaster,” while a group of prominent producers are lobbying US Congress to oppose the deal,
Two Chinese chipmakers are attracting strong retail investor demand, buoyed by industry peer Moore Threads Technology Co’s (摩爾線程) stellar debut. The retail portion of MetaX Integrated Circuits (Shanghai) Co’s (上海沐曦) upcoming initial public offering (IPO) was 2,986 times oversubscribed on Friday, according to a filing. Meanwhile, Beijing Onmicro Electronics Co (北京昂瑞微), which makes radio frequency chips, was 2,899 times oversubscribed on Friday, its filing showed. The bids coincided with Moore Threads’ trading debut, which surged 425 percent on Friday after raising 8 billion yuan (US$1.13 billion) on bets that the company could emerge as a viable local competitor to Nvidia
RSS