Akro AI Tackles Enterprise Data Bottleneck with Automated Workflows for Regulated Industries
Source: Singapore Business Review
Singapore-based AI startup Akro is helping regulated industries deploy artificial intelligence by organising unstructured data into automated workflows, reducing tasks that typically take days to as little as 15 minutes. The company raised US00,000 in pre-seed funding in June to fuel hiring and GPU capacity.
Singapore's startup ecosystem is proving that the most valuable AI applications aren't always the flashiest. While much of the conversation around artificial intelligence focuses on generative models and consumer-facing tools, a quieter revolution is taking place in the back offices of regulated industries — where unstructured data has been a stubborn bottleneck for years. Akro AI, a homegrown startup founded in 2025, is building the bridge between sensitive enterprise data and trustworthy AI automation.
Akro AI, co-founded by Marcus Quek and chief technology officer Brian Tang, builds AI workflows specifically designed for regulated sectors including defence, finance, and logistics. The platform allows organisations to upload documents — from scanned records to handwritten files — and extract structured information from otherwise messy data. Users define a workflow, let AI agents learn the process from sample data, then verify the output before deployment. In finance, the platform automates customer onboarding verification and invoice reconciliation; in logistics, it consolidates data from large volumes of spreadsheets into management-ready reports.
The startup's pitch resonates because it addresses a concrete pain point that many Singaporean enterprises share: the tension between wanting AI-driven efficiency and the security constraints of handling sensitive information. Quek, who previously worked in the defence sector, recognised that conventional AI tools often fail in environments where data cannot leave controlled networks. Akro's platform can be deployed without an internet connection, making it suitable for organisations with strict security requirements — a feature particularly relevant for Singapore's growing defence and critical infrastructure digitisation efforts.
The company raised S04,000 (US00,000) in pre-seed funding in June, which Quek said would go towards hiring AI and machine learning engineers, as well as expanding graphics processing unit capacity for in-house model development. Quek told Singapore Business Review that the system can reduce work that typically takes five to ten days to about 15 to 30 minutes — roughly a 90 per cent time saving. While the startup is currently focused on regulated sectors, Quek said the broader ambition is to help organisations build specialised AI systems that can handle sensitive work securely and at scale.
Why it matters for Singapore: Singapore's position as a financial hub and its growing investments in defence and critical infrastructure create a natural market for AI that respects regulatory boundaries. Akro represents a growing cohort of Singapore startups focusing on 'trustworthy AI' — systems designed from the ground up for environments where data sensitivity is paramount. If Akro succeeds in becoming the default data-and-automation layer for regulated industries, it could give Singapore an edge in an area of AI that most global players are still struggling to address: making automation work where security matters most.
