WeLab, a leading Pan-Asian fintech platform, has completed a US$220 million Series D strategic financing round, marking the largest digital banking capital raise in Asia for 2025. The funding, which combines debt and equity, also represents the largest single investment in the company’s history, signaling strong investor confidence in its growth strategy. With this capital, WeLab aims to accelerate expansion, enhance technological capabilities, and pursue an ambitious AI-driven vision for digital banking.
Backing from Global Financial Leaders
The financing round attracted a diverse mix of investors, including new backers and continued support from established partners. Notable participants include Prudential Hong Kong Ltd, Fubon Bank (Hong Kong), HSBC, Allianz X, TOM Group, and the Hong Kong Investment Corporation (HKIC). Their participation highlights broad confidence in WeLab’s potential to innovate in the digital banking sector while reinforcing Hong Kong’s status as a fintech hub.
HKIC’s involvement reflects its mandate to strengthen Hong Kong’s innovation ecosystem, supporting AI-driven financial services with regional impact. Insurers such as Prudential are investing to enhance their own offerings, leveraging AI to boost efficiency and improve client outcomes. Meanwhile, banking partners like Fubon and HSBC view their stake as a strategic move to engage with emerging digital banking technologies and capture market share in a rapidly evolving environment.
Fueling an AI-First Strategy with Google
A core element of WeLab’s growth plan is its “AI-first” strategy, anchored by a strategic partnership with Google announced in September 2025. The new capital will be used to integrate advanced AI capabilities across operations, aiming to serve 500 million users across Asia-Pacific by 2032. WeLab anticipates these AI-driven initiatives will deliver a 42.4% efficiency improvement over the next five years.
The collaboration includes deploying Google’s Gemini models on the Vertex AI platform to optimize processes from product design to marketing. Internal AI agents are already providing employees with real-time investment insights, while customer-facing agents will soon deliver personalized guidance in areas such as lending, wealth management, and foreign exchange. The partnership also encompasses comprehensive AI and data training for WeLab staff, ensuring the company has the expertise to execute its ambitious vision.
Regional Expansion Across Southeast Asia
While WeLab consolidates its position as Hong Kong’s largest digital bank by revenue, it is aggressively pursuing growth in Southeast Asia. Its Indonesian venture, Bank Saqu, launched in November 2023 following the acquisition of Bank Jasa Jakarta, has quickly grown to over two million customers within its first year. Targeting individuals and solopreneurs, the bank leverages innovative features like its “pockets” system to address the needs of the region’s underbanked population.
Encouraged by this success, WeLab is exploring expansion into Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Thailand, with the latter identified for a potential third digital banking license. The company’s multi-pronged strategy includes new licenses, local partnerships, and flexible deployment through B2C, B2B, and B2B2X models. This approach allows WeLab to adapt to varied regulatory landscapes while scaling its technology-driven banking solutions across the region.
Navigating a Competitive Landscape
Despite a proven track record, WeLab faces a competitive digital banking environment, particularly as Hong Kong transitions to licensed digital banks. While WeLab Bank has earned recognition among the “World’s Top 20 Digital Banks” by Euromoney, rivals are also aggressively targeting the same customer segments. In Indonesia, platforms like Yup are intensifying competition for the underbanked, underscoring the need for innovation, local knowledge, and efficient customer acquisition strategies.
With $220 million in fresh capital, WeLab is positioned to not only compete but to lead in Asia’s digital banking market. Founder and Group CEO Simon Loong emphasized the company’s readiness: “With operations across three markets and two digital banks in Hong Kong and Indonesia, WeLab has built both scale and depth of operational experience. This foundation allows us to capture new opportunities, accelerate expansion, and innovate at pace in the evolving digital banking landscape.”
WeLab’s latest funding round underscores investor confidence in its ability to shape the future of digital banking across Asia. Through AI-driven technology, strategic partnerships, and targeted regional expansion, the fintech platform aims to deliver more efficient, personalized, and accessible financial services. As competition intensifies, WeLab’s combination of scale, technological innovation, and market insight positions it to lead the next chapter of the continent’s digital banking revolution.