Southeast Asia’s corporate VC landscape has evolved significantly. Numerous corporations have established dedicated investment arms to foster innovation and gain strategic advantages. Prominent examples include SoftBank Ventures Asia, Singtel Innov8, MDI Ventures, and UOB.
These corporate VC initiatives not only provide capital but also offer strategic support, industry expertise, and access to extensive networks, thereby accelerating the growth of startups in Southeast Asia. Corporate investors’ active participation underscores the region’s dynamic startup ecosystem and the critical role of CVCs in driving innovation and economic development.
We have compiled a list of the most active corporate VC initiatives in the region below:
SoftBank Vision Fund
The SoftBank Vision Fund is a venture capital fund managed by SoftBank Investment Advisers, a subsidiary of Japan’s SoftBank Group.
Established in: 1990
Location: England, Tokyo, Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong, Maharashtra, Riyadh, Shanghai, California, Mexico City, Florida, State of Sao Paulo Overall portfolio count:
Notable investments: Klarna, Gopuff, Devoted Health, Fanatics, FTX, OYO, Guazi, Revolut, Chime, ByteDance, OakNorth Bank, Jellysmack, Andela, TravelPerk, Aleo, Remote, Blockdaemon, LTK, M1, Fabric, Fetch, Sorare, Fair, Clearco, Loggi, Greensill, ZEPETO, Abogen Biosciences, CommerceIQ, Yanolja, Extend, Vendr, Pax8, Rimac Automobili, Pacaso, Sendbird, Perplexity, InMobi, Nuro, Cybereason, Upside Foods, SayWeee, ZenBusiness, Katerra, Contentsquare, Lenskart, OneTrust, Carro, Esusu, and Minio.
Singtel Innov8
Singtel Innov8 is the corporate VC fund of Singtel, Asia’s leading communications technology group. With an evergreen fund of US$350 million, Innov8 invests in and partners startups with promising innovations and possible applications for Singtel Group’s diverse business needs.
Established in: 2010
Location: Singapore
Overall portfolio count: 108
Notable investments: BitSight, Cato Networks, Silverfort, Carro, Zeotap, CTERA, Balbix, Demyst, ShopBack, Halodoc, Teridion, PrivyID, Endowus, Wiz, Synack, Kumu Networks, Prophecy, AiCure, CounterTack, Airalo, and StrongDM.
Also Read: How technology is shaping Asia’s startup ecosystem nowadays
Saison Capital
Saison Crypto, the corporate VC firm owned by Credit Saison, invests in pre-seed to Series B-stage companies.
Established in: 2019
Location: Singapore
Overall portfolio count: 98
Notable investments: Growsari, Ula, LummoSHOP, OY!, Stashfin, Bazaar, and KoinWorks.
MDI Ventures
MDI Ventures is a multi-stage VC firm backed by Telkom Indonesia. It mainly focuses on fintech, cloud computing, and other fast-growing sectors.
Established in: 2015
Location: Indonesia and the US
Overall portfolio count: 91
Notable investments: Akulaku, MPL, NIUM, Kredivo Holdings, Fazz, Qoala, Alodokter, Loft Orbital, aCommerce, Zenius, Zenlayer, Evermos, PrivyID, JULO, KoinWorks, Amartha, QFPay, OY!, Aruna, Deskera, SiCepat, and InstaReM.
UOB
A venture capital firm backed by the United Overseas Bank, a leading bank in Asia with a global network of 500 branches and offices across 19 countries.
Established in: 1992
Location: Singapore, China, Vietnam, and Indonesia
Overall portfolio count: 80
Notable investments: Polyhedra Network, MiningLamp, ViSenze, Ruangguru, Fantom, HappyEasyGo, Halodoc, Evermos, Thuocsi, GCT Semiconductor, HunterOn, Amartha, Sociolla, and Pluang.
Kickstart Ventures
Kickstart is a wholly-owned corporate VC firm of Globe Telecom, the Philippines’ leading mobile operator.
Established in: 2012
Location: The Philippines
Overall portfolio count: 58
Notable investments: Kumu, Havenly, Roslin Technologies, and Teridion.
Vulpes Ventures
Vulpes Ventures is the venture capital group within Vulpes Investment Management Pte Ltd, a Singapore-based alternative investment manager.
Established in: 2011
Location: Singapore, Australia, and Vietnam
Overall portfolio count: 54
Notable investments: Sharesies, BetterPlace, Funding Societies, and Flash Coffee.
Heritas Capital Management
Heritas Capital is the investment arm of the IMC Group foucusing on PE, VC, and fund of funds investments
Established in: 1997
Location: Singapore
Overall portfolio count: 23
Notable investments: Alodokter and Hummingbird Bioscience
Mandiri Capital
Mandiri Capital Indonesia is a corporate VC firm operated by the country’s largest financial institution, Bank Mandiri.
Established in: 2016
Location: Indonesia
Overall portfolio count: 48
Notable investments: KoinWorks, Amartha, Qoala, Mekari, LinkAja, and PrivyID.
SC Ventures
SC Ventures is a business unit that provides the platform and catalyst for Standard Chartered to promote innovation, invest in disruptive financial technology and explore alternative business models.
Also Read: 
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Established in: 1969
Location: Singapore, the United Kingdom, Kenya, and China.
Overall portfolio count: 36
Notable investments: Solv, Silent Eight, OpenFin, vArmour, Thought Machine, Instabase, and Symphony.
BRI Ventures
BRI Ventures is a corporate VC initiative backed by Bank Rakyat Indonesia
Established in: 2019
Location: Indonesia
Overall portfolio count: 30
Notable investments: Broom, Funding Societies, Pluang, Qoala, Fazz, and LinkAja.
InVent
InVent is a corporate venture capital project of Intouch Holdings, which invests in high-growth technology companies in Thailand and Southeast Asia.
Established in: 2012
Location: Thailand
Overall portfolio count: 24
Notable investments: ShopBack and Igloo.
ADB Ventures
ADB Ventures is the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) corporate VC fund that invests in impact-tech startups.
Established in: 2020
Location: The Philippines
Overall portfolio count: 40
Notable investments: Euler Motors, Skycatch, and Captain Fresh.
AddVentures
AddVentures is the corporate VC arm of SCG, one of Southeast Asia’s leading Industrial conglomerate established in 1913.
Established in: 2017
Location: Thailand
Overall portfolio count: 19
Notable investments: Bizongo and Validus.
IDG Ventures Vietnam
IDG Ventures Vietnam is the first technology VC fund in Vietnam formed by the International Data Group (IDG).
Established in: 2004
Location: Vietnam
Overall portfolio count: 47
Kyber Ventures
Kyber Ventures is the investment arm of Kyber Group, a Web3-focused group with popular products including a KyberSwap DEX & an all-in-one non-custodial web3 wallet Krystal.
Established in: 2022
Location: Singapore
Overall portfolio count: 35.
zVentures
zVentures is the early-stage venture arm of Razer, a leading lifestyle brand for gamers.
Established in:
Location: Singapore and the US
Overall portfolio count: 27
Notable investments: Animoca Brands and Forte.
Also Read: The upside of conglomerate influence in Thailand’s tech industry
JG Digital Equity Ventures
JG Digital Equity Ventures is the corporate venture capital arm of JG Summit Holdings, one of the Philippines’s biggest conglomerates with business interests in air transportation, banking, food manufacturing, hotels, petrochemicals, power generation, real estate, property development and telecommunications.
Established in: 2019
Location: The Philippines
Overall portfolio count: 10
Notable investments: iPrice
OCBC NISP Ventura
OCBC Ventura is a VC arm of PT Bank OCBC NISP Tbk, part of OCBC group.
Established in: 2019
Location: Indonesia
Overall portfolio count: 12
Notable investments: 99 Group and SIRCLO
ICCP SBI Venture Partners
ICCP SBI Venture Partners is a partnership between two leading Asian VC firms: ICCP Venture Partners and SBI Holdings. ISVP invests in rapidly growing tech companies in the US and Southeast Asia, until Series B.
Established in: 1998
Location: The Philippines, Malaysia, Japan, and the US
Overall portfolio count: 31
Notable investments: PayMongo and Growsari.
PSA Ventures
PSA Ventures (erstwhile PSA unboXed) is the innovation and startup accelerator platform of PSA International.
Established in: 2016
Location: Singapore
Overall portfolio count: 8
Supply Chain Angels
Supply Chain Angels (SCAngels) is the corporate VC arm of YCH Group, Asia Pacific’s leading integrated end-to-end supply chain management and solutions provider, supported by Y3 Technologies.
Established in: 2016
Location: Singapore
Overall portfolio count: 8
Notable investments: TookiTaki.
Far East Ventures
Far East Capital is the family office and investment vehicle of Far East Organization, one of the largest private real-estate developers in Singapore.
Established in: 1982
Location: Singapore
Overall portfolio count: 14.
SPRIM Global Investments
SPRIM Global Investment is a privately held investment company established in 2008 following the global expansion of SPRIM Service business.
Established in: 2008
Location: Singapore and the US.
Overall portfolio count: 16.
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Data credit: Tracxn
Image Credit: Pexels.
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