SG fintech firm Bambu shuts down after missing profit targets, says founder

ON DEC 31 last year, Singapore-based fintech startup Bambu had shut down. This is hardly unusual: Startups shut down all the time, especially in an economic downturn – except the company was moving closer to profitability earlier in the year.

“We had large clients and we were getting there,” Ned Phillips, founder and CEO of the B2B fintech firm, told Tech in Asia in an interview.

A source close to the company told Tech in Asia that an investor “pulled the rug because the market was down and the burn was not reducing enough”.

Phillips, however, said that the shutdown was a joint decision between the management and investors. They had decided that if Bambu did not go into the black by the end of the year, it would close shop, he added.

Bambu, which enables financial institutions to offer robo-advisory products, ultimately fell short.

“We couldn’t get there in the timeline,” Phillips said.

‘Could have been a huge success’

Founded in 2016 by Phillips, Luke Janssen, and Aki Ranin, Bambu raised at least US$13.4 million from Franklin Templeton Investments, Wavemaker Partners, Octava, and others.

Although Bambu is more of a software provider, it rode on a surge in interest in robo-advisory services. The sector, however, has since cooled. Local players MoneyOwl and Smartly have been shut down. Even US banking giant JPMorgan wound down its robo-advisor.

The surviving local services – StashAway, Syfe, AutoWealth, and Endowus – are still reportedly unprofitable.

Phillips attributes Bambu’s closure chiefly to the macroeconomic landscape and ballooning interest rates, which made it difficult for the firm to scout for more enterprise deals.

He added that Bambu’s profitability plan hinged on improving its product while generating more scalable and recurring revenue.

One of last year’s biggest initiatives was a product called Bambu Go. Launched in November, it provided financial institutions with a customisable robo-advisor, which they could, in turn, offer to mass retail investors.

Finding customers did not seem to be an issue. Phillips said that Bambu’s tech was sold to its clients as part of its liquidation process, and that none of its customers were affected.

The liquidation is “ongoing but we have had multiple buyers of the technology”, he said.

However, a source close to Bambu said that while the firm was strong in sales, it was not as proficient in operations and technology. Although the startup later shored up these areas by bringing on competent executives, time had simply run out.

“Bambu could have been a huge success in wealthtech – a global leader,” the source said.

For now, Phillips said he is consulting for a few companies, sharing his experience in branding and sales initiatives.

“[Bambu] did a lot. We had some great clients. We have got some great tech that lives on. We are super proud of what we did,” the founder said. TECH IN ASIA