London-listed TBC Bank Group PLC has announced the appointment of Konstantin Kruglov as Head of Artificial Intelligence at TBC Uzbekistan, its fast-growing fintech business in Central Asia’s largest country by population.
Konstantin brings over 25 years of experience in tech, including more than a decade focusing on artificial intelligence. He will lead AI strategy for TBC’s operations in Uzbekistan, where the company has become the leading digital banking ecosystem in Central Asia. TBC Uzbekistan is leveraging transformative developments in AI to deliver a more personalized, interactive, and engaging customer experience for its 15mn unique registered users.
Key initiatives under Konstantin’s leadership will include building an AI-enabled Virtual Assistant to enhance customer experience across TBC interfaces and leveraging AI-based technology to optimize customer support, sales, and other operations. These efforts aim to improve user engagement, customer experience, and operational efficiency.
Catering to local needs is a crucial part of TBC’s strategy in Uzbekistan, especially since languages like Uzbek are often overlooked by global tech giants feeding speech and language models. TBC Uzbekistan is leveraging its proprietary datasets to build and train best-in-class Uzbek language models for financial services, an effort spearheaded by Konstantin’s team.
“We are delighted to welcome Konstantin to TBC Uzbekistan as Head of AI. His appointment is a testament to our commitment to cutting-edge tech innovation. It will allow us to move quickly in utilizing the full potential of AI by integrating it into our product offering, improving operational efficiency, and helping us deliver a best-in-class customer experience, as we build on our initial success of establishing Central Asia’s leading digital banking ecosystem,” Nika Kurdiani, CEO of TBC operations in Uzbekistan, commented.
Konstantin Kruglov, Head of AI at TBC Uzbekistan, said:
“I am excited to join TBC Uzbekistan, which has an ambitious strategy to pioneer the use of AI in Central Asia. Our goal is to build an AI-capable digital banking ecosystem, whose initial key elements would include a virtual assistant supporting the Uzbek language and advanced language model capabilities in voice channels. I look forward to working with Nika, Oliver, and the team as we build a platform that provides our customers with a highly personalized, AI-enabled customer experience, with functionality in the local language.”
TBC Uzbekistan comprises three high-growth fintech businesses: TBC UZ, a mobile-only bank; Payme, a digital payments app for individuals and small businesses; and Payme Nasiya (Payme Instalments), an instalment credit business. Since its launch in 2020, TBC Uzbekistan has scaled up quickly and profitably, recording gross loans of $296mn, deposits of $216mn, and a net profit of $23mn for FY23.
Konstantin has previously worked at both startups and major tech companies across Europe, the United Kingdom, and the U.S. Early in his career, he oversaw the development of major systems for equity analytics and algorithmic trading at Deutsche Bank. Later, he became Director of Smart Devices at Yandex, where he led the development of the smart speaker with voice assistant Alice, one of the world’s most popular voice assistants, in 2017.
As the CEO of SberDevices, he built and led a team of 2,000 people, creating a voice assistant with 20mn monthly active users and millions of devices sold. At Tinkoff Digital, where Konstantin was CTO, he led the development of the company’s first real-time bidding technology, enhancing the digital bank’s customer acquisition.
Konstantin remains a founder of cutting-edge London-based AI-powered startups aiuta.com and aiphoria.ai, and will continue his work on these ventures in addition to his new role at TBC Uzbekistan. His dual focus will bring a unique blend of expertise and innovative thinking to TBC, driving forward the company’s AI initiatives while fostering the growth and success of his startups.
Based in London, Konstantin will divide his time between London and Tashkent.
TBC Uzbekistan is the leading digital banking ecosystem in Central Asia and a subsidiary of London-listed TBC Bank Group. Its success is driven by its purpose-built tech stack, experienced international team, and consumer lending-led product strategy. Supported by its first-mover advantage in Central Asia’s largest nation by population, the company continues to expand its innovative, best-in-class product mix.
TBC Uzbekistan has scaled its registered user base to 15 million users and recorded a net profit of $23mn in 2023. The company delivered 85% year-on-year revenue growth in 1Q24, doubling its loan and deposit books. TBC Bank Uzbekistan is rated ‘BB-’ by Fitch Ratings with a Stable Outlook.
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