We recently had the privilege of an insightful conversation with Kelly Hao, co-founder of UDF IPS, a pioneering Intelligent Professional Services platform planned for launch in 2026. With a vision to make world-class professional services easily accessible, Kelly leveraged her expertise to build an AI-driven infrastructure for seamless global collaboration. Designed to reduce traditional 30-90 day processing times to merely 3-7 days, Kelly Hao’s innovative project has the potential to save professionals 30% of their working time—the most limited and precious resource.
Spark Behind the Journey
We started the interview by asking, “What profound experiences drove you to create UDF IPS, and how do you envision AI transforming the key real-world barriers in cross-border commerce linking Chinese-speaking and Arabic-speaking worlds?”
Kelly shared, “My inspiration to create UDF IPS stems from both profound personal experience and deep industry insight. The 2003 SARS outbreak, where I faced a life-threatening crisis, fundamentally shifted my perspective on the value of time and meaningful work. This experience taught me that with only 30,000 days in a lifetime, every moment must count toward significant endeavors.
Through over 100,000 hours of experience in cross-border financial services, I have identified a critical market inefficiency: the persistent bottleneck between high-quality professional service providers and the SMEs that need them most. The challenges are systemic—language barriers, lack of professional talent access, credit and trust obstacles, and the difficulty of distinguishing quality services in an oversaturated digital marketplace.”
“While e-commerce platforms have revolutionized product trading, professional services remain fragmented and inefficient. Businesses waste 30-90 days on processes that should take mere days, while talented professionals struggle through regulatory mazes and opaque practices. This affects an estimated 350 million business professionals across Chinese-speaking and Arabic-speaking markets.
This is why we are developing UDF IPS, with a planned launch in 2026. Our vision extends beyond mere technological innovation—we aim to reclaim humanity’s most precious resource: time. Our platform is designed to reduce traditional 30-90 day processing times to 3-7 days, with the potential to save professionals 30% of their working time. Time is our most limited resource—let’s give it back to humanity itself,” she added.
Breaking Barriers with UDF IPS
Intrigued to learn how Kelly Hao’s platform aims to help Chinese and Arabic-speaking users save precious time and resources in cross-border business, we requested her to share the same.
She shared, “UDF IPS is envisioned to turn a cross-border marathon into a sprint. Imagine an entrepreneur expanding into a new market. Instead of spending months and hundreds of thousands of dollars on consultants, our AI-powered agents will provide instant compliance guidance, document processing, and precise matching with reliable, pre-vetted professional service providers. This is projected to shorten the 90-day process to just 3-7 days and reduce professional service costs by 60-80%.
For Chinese and Arabic speakers, our user-first approach will feature a remarkably simple interface that breaks down language barriers. The AI will handle the complex business, financial, tax, and legal details behind the scenes, allowing users to focus on growth rather than cumbersome administrative processes and paperwork.
In a world racing against time, UDF IPS is being built to give you back the moments that count.”
Trust as a Core Value: A Non-Negotiable for UDF IPS
We further asked, “How will UDF IPS ensure that every user—regardless of language or background—can collaborate securely, confidently, and in full respect of privacy and local regulations?”
“Trust is the bedrock of our platform. This principle is non-negotiable for me, to the point where I have consistently declined lucrative opportunities that could compromise client confidentiality. We embedded this ethos into our technology with a unique five-layer AI architecture, featuring a dedicated ‘Compliance Output Control Layer.’ This will act as a final line of defense, using guardrails and fact-checking to ensure outputs are accurate and safe. We operate on the principle that ‘finance knows no borders, but licenses do,’ with a dual-center structure planned for China and the UAE to respect every jurisdiction’s unique regulations from the ground up,” Kelly added.
Fostering a Healthy Work Culture
To learn more about how Kelly Hao envisions UDF IPS helping professionals spend less time working and more time with their families, communities, and personal passions, we asked her to share the same.
She explained, “This is the humanitarian impact that drives me every day. I’ve tragically seen some friends in high-pressure professions pass away far too young from stress and overwork. These aren’t just statistics; they are personal reminders that we are never guaranteed a tomorrow. UDF IPS is designed to save these dedicated professionals up to 30% of their working time. That time isn’t just an efficiency metric—it will represent more evenings with family, more weekends for hobbies, and more opportunities to simply enjoy the life they work so hard to build. We are not just saving time; we are giving people a chance to live more fully.”
Growth with Purpose: Collaboration for a Better Tomorrow
Networking and the right collaborations can play a crucial role in changing the shape of a business. So, we asked Kelly Hao, “As a founder without a famous name, how have you succeeded in inviting respected partners and advisors from different countries to join this ambitious and meaningful project?”
Kelly mentioned, “True collaboration blooms from shared purpose, not prestige. Respected partners are drawn to a clear vision for solving real, significant problems. They recognize my nine years of tenacity and innovative design work dedicated to addressing deep frictions in high-stakes professional services, and they see the disruptive potential of UDF IPS in an overlooked market.
Our Forum of Strategic Advisors (FoSA) attracts leaders who want to co-create lasting value, and our profit-sharing model is designed to ensure deep synergy for long-term success. My passion for creatively solving seemingly impossible problems attracts those who are eager for breakthrough innovation. Ultimately, execution is the only reputation that matters.”
Envisioning Major Breakthroughs at UDF IPS
As an innovative project, Kelly Hao believes UDF IPS will redefine cross-border financial services. To learn more, we asked, “What lasting benefits do you hope UDF IPS will bring, and what is the next milestone that excites you most?”
She explained, “I envision UDF IPS delivering exponential efficiency improvements, significant cost savings, and accuracy above 98%, transforming cross-border business into an experience as seamless as local operations. Beyond profitability, our goal is to foster a better work-life balance for millions of professionals, reducing stress and enabling the personal fulfillment that comes from reclaiming their time.
The milestone that excites me most is the launch of our UDF 1.0 MVP. This will be the moment our vision becomes a tangible tool that solves real-world problems for our first users. It represents the critical validation of our approach to bridging invisible divides and proves we can deliver reliable, confidential, and compliant services that save clients time and money.”
Message to the Industry
Lastly, we asked, “What is your message to others who want to use technology to positively change the business world?”
“My hope is that we, as innovators, seek out the overlooked spaces where real problems hide—that’s where true disruption is born. Let’s pursue meaningful work with unwavering integrity.
I believe the purpose of AI should be to save time and, in doing so, make business more human. The real power of innovation isn’t just in technology; it’s in returning precious time to our hearts and our homes. If we start small, iterate boldly, and build with empathy, I am confident that positive change will follow. It is our shared passion that truly connects worlds,” Kelly shared.
Connect with Kelly Hao on LinkedIn to learn more.
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