Hupo's pivot: from mental wellness to sales performance
When Justin Kim launched his company four years ago, it wasn't selling AI sales coaching to banks and insurers. It started as Ami, a mental wellness platform focused on pressure, habits, and behavior change. The throughline was performance - and the insight that mental resilience drives it.
That focus pulled the company toward work. Kim noticed the same patterns inside large sales teams that he'd seen in sports: people succeed when they get clear feedback and coaching in the moments that matter. That became Hupo.
Why BFSI cares
Sales performance in banking, financial services, and insurance varies widely. It's rarely a motivation problem. It's uneven training, inconsistent feedback, and shaky confidence in regulated, high-stakes conversations.
Managers can't sit in on every call. Real-time AI that understands context can, giving teams consistent guidance without replacing human judgment. That's the gap Hupo aims to close.
What Hupo is building
Hupo's approach is simple: fit into how people already work, be specific, and stay tied to actual conversations. Tools that feel judgmental or abstract get ignored. The product is built around how banks and insurers operate, not the other way around.
From day one, Hupo trained its models on real financial products, common objections, client types, and regulatory requirements. The goal is practical coaching in the flow of work - not generic tips after the fact.
Traction, funding, and expansion
Hupo raised a $10 million Series A led by DST Global Partners, with participation from Collaborative Fund, Goodwater Capital, January Capital, and Strong Ventures. Total funding is now $15 million since its founding in 2022.
The Singapore-headquartered startup serves customers across APAC and Europe, including Prudential, AXA, Manulife, HSBC, Bank of Ireland, and Grab. In a tough vertical, contracts typically expand 3x to 8x within six months. The company plans a U.S. expansion in the first half of the year.
Founder context
Kim sold enterprise software at Bloomberg to banks, asset managers, and insurers, where he saw how complex regulated sales really are. He later worked on product at South Korean fintech Viva Republica (Toss), learning how tech grounded in real user behavior reshapes financial services.
"Hupo sits at the intersection of those experiences," he said. "Once AI could understand context and coach in real time, sales coaching - especially in banking and insurance - was the obvious place to apply it."
What this means for sales leaders
- Coach where the reps are: Tools must integrate with daily workflows and live calls, not just post-call summaries.
- Train on your products and rules: Generic AI misses nuance. Ground models in actual offerings, objections, and compliance boundaries.
- Scale consistency: Use AI to standardize coaching so every rep gets the same high-quality prompts and feedback.
- Keep humans in charge: AI should support judgment, not replace it. Managers set the standards and review outcomes.
- Measure what matters: Track conversion lift, call quality metrics, and time-to-ramp - then iterate your playbooks.
Rollout checklist for BFSI teams
- Start with one product line and a clear objection set.
- Align with compliance early; define on-record guidance rules.
- Integrate with your call stack and CRM to close the loop.
- Create a feedback cadence: weekly manager reviews on AI-tagged moments.
- Publish short "what good looks like" clips based on top reps.
What's next
The new funding goes to real-time coaching features, enterprise-grade deployments, go-to-market in BFSI, and team growth. Over the next five years, Hupo wants to extend beyond sales coaching to help large teams perform at scale - giving managers and employees clearer insights and practical guidance across tens of thousands of people.
Want to explore AI tools for finance and sales? Check out this curated resource: AI tools for finance.
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