SAN FRANCISCO, May 31, 2023 -- Agent IQ, a provider of digital customer engagement solutions
specializing in making financial services more personal again, announced today the strategic investment from the Bankers Helping Bankers Fund (BHB Fund), a community bank-focused fintech venture capital fund managed by Latitude38 Venture Partners, in partnership with IBAT Services, Inc., a subsidiary of the Independent Bankers Association of Texas (IBAT) and FedFis, a leading banking market intelligence and advisory firm.
Established in late 2022 “for community banks, by community banks,” the BHB Fund was created to provide community banks with exposure to a diversified portfolio of fintech investments that drive growth, improve operational efficiencies and enhance the bank’s competitiveness, while also sharing potential to earn outsized venture capital returns that are uncorrelated to traditional bank operations. Investing in early-stage companies that solve “here and now” challenges facing community banks, the BHB Fund selected Agent IQ as one of its early investments. The BHB Fund will continue fund raising closes throughout the first half of 2023.
“The BHB Fund is very excited to fund Agent IQ as one of its early investments as the company fits
squarely into our investment thesis,” said Richard Leggett, Managing Partner, Latitude38 Venture
Partners. “We are tremendously thrilled to partner with Slaven, and the rest of this highly talented team. The need among community banks for digital engagement in an era of online, technological growth is more important than ever; we look forward to leveraging our network, partners, and operating experience to help Agent IQ grow and capture future opportunities.”
“We are excited to be a part of the BHB Fund as the organization is helping more community banks overcome their shared challenges, operate more efficiently and discover new sources of income,” said Slaven Bilac, CEO & Co-Founder, Agent IQ. “This investment is representative of Agent IQ’s commitment to helping FIs foster deep and meaningful customer relationships while also meeting the digital demands of today’s customers. Our team looks forward to empowering more community banks with data-driven technology and the ability to allow relationship banking to thrive in the digital world.”
About Bankers Helping Bankers Fund
The Bankers Helping Bankers Fund is a fintech venture fund that enables community banks to invest in bank technology companies. The Fund has several bank friendly strategic partners, including IBAT (Independent Bankers Association of Texas), FedFis (FI market intelligence and advisory firm), and Camden Fine (former ICBA President), and community bank investors. The Fund is built “for community banks, by community banks”, providing them with a dual set of benefits: exposure to a diversified portfolio of fintech investments that improve the competitiveness and efficiency of banks, and the potential to earn outsize venture capital returns that are uncorrelated to traditional bank operations. The Fund’s primary investment thesis is built on three core “here and now” community bank strategic priorities: (i) growth via
deposits and expansion of products and services, (ii) insights and intelligence about customers and internals at the bank, and (iii) operational efficiency across all functions (back office, compliance, etc.). For more information, visit bhbfundvc.com.
About Agent IQ
Agent IQ develops digital platforms that empower clients to deepen their customer relationships, improve customer satisfaction and boost service efficiencies, leading to an increase in profitability while reducing the cost of serving. Agent IQ believes that augmenting the human banker is a better approach than replacing the human banker. Pragmatic application of cutting-edge artificial intelligence and machine learning offers the promise of unprecedented scale, while keeping the focus on human empathy, creativity and personality. For more information, visit https://agentiq.com/company/about-us.
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