DBS is stepping deeper into private markets, and it’s bringing its wealth clients along for the ride.
Singapore’s largest bank by assets has signed a three-year partnership with Granite Asia, a multi-asset investment platform, to build a pipeline of investment products and financing options aimed at high-growth Asian companies, with AI as the opening act.
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The collaboration starts with money on the table: Granite Asia has closed a US$110 million AI-focused IPO fund, and DBS distributed it exclusively to its wealth clients. In plain terms, this is DBS using its private banking reach to funnel client capital into a specialist vehicle targeting a narrow slice of the market: AI-driven Asian companies heading towards public listings.
How many Asian AI firms could benefit?
The partnership points to a large addressable universe, and a narrowing funnel.
Citing Crunchbase data (as of 20 February 2026), the press release notes that over 13,000 AI-driven companies have been founded in Asia since 2015. Not all of these are IPO-bound (or even fundable), but that figure sets the backdrop: a crowded pipeline of AI startups now ageing into the “needs serious capital” phase.
The fund itself will ultimately back a much smaller subset — the companies that are both AI-driven and sufficiently mature to pursue IPOs — but the strategic pitch is that the collaboration is designed to keep producing vehicles that can tap different stages and structures of growth financing.
What DBS and Granite Asia are actually building (beyond the first fund)
The AI IPO fund is described as the first in a series. Under a memorandum of understanding formalising the partnership, Granite Asia will:
- Develop new funds exclusively for DBS clients
- Offer co-investment opportunities
- Launch a private capital product intended to provide non-dilutive capital to help tech-enabled Asian businesses transform and scale
That last item is where the deal tries to move from “another private bank product” to something more strategic. Non-dilutive capital typically refers to funding that doesn’t require founders to give up equity (often structured as credit or alternative financing). If executed well, that can matter in a region where valuation resets and tighter venture funding have made equity rounds more painful for founders.
How the partnership benefits high-growth companies
For high-growth firms, the headline isn’t just “more capital exists”; it’s that DBS is attaching its corporate and investment banking machinery to Granite Asia’s portfolio and future pipeline.
DBS says it will support Granite Asia’s funds and portfolio companies across the lifecycle, including:
- Subscription financing (often used by funds to smooth capital calls and liquidity timing)
- Corporate loans
- M&A advisory
- Support for bond issuances
- Work to prepare for an IPO
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This matters because many growth-stage companies don’t just need cash; they need financing that matches their timing, plus help navigating transactions, capital markets, and cross-border expansion. A bank that can provide lending, advisory, and capital markets services can become an operating advantage, not merely a cheque.
What role AI plays in the collaboration
AI is not a side theme here; it’s the anchor product that kicks off the partnership.
Granite Asia’s first vehicle under the tie-up targets IPOs of high-growth AI-driven companies in Asia. The companies themselves aren’t named, but the intention is explicit: direct capital into IPOs and give investors “early access” to those opportunities.
The fund also drew investors beyond Singapore: the press release says it saw participation from Southeast Asia, as well as South Asia and Europe, signalling that the AI narrative and “Asia IPO access” angle is being marketed as a cross-region opportunity, not just a local product.
How private wealth clients are getting institutional-level access
The most consequential element for DBS’s private banking customers is distribution mechanics and product type:
- The US$110 million fund was distributed exclusively to DBS wealth clients, effectively a gated channel.
- Granite Asia will raise new funds exclusively for DBS clients and offer co-investments, structures commonly used by institutional allocators.
- A planned private capital product is explicitly positioned as giving clients access to an asset class “typically available to only institutional investors.”
In short: DBS is packaging private-market style access (funds, co-investments, private capital structures) into a wealth-channel offering, using Granite Asia as the sourcing and execution engine.
Granite Asia’s IPO track record, and why it’s being emphasised now
Granite Asia is heavily reliant on its ability to shepherd companies from private to public markets. The release claims that in the past six months alone, its portfolio companies recorded five listings and 10 additional IPO filings.
That’s a key selling point because the whole thesis of an “AI-focused IPO fund” depends on whether IPO exits are actually returning — and whether managers can consistently navigate listing windows when they open.
What the CEOs are saying (and what it signals)
Tan Su Shan, CEO of DBS, framed the move as a bank-wide push into funding and market access for the next wave of regional winners: “By combining DBS’ capabilities with Granite Asia’s deep founder relationships and track record in backing innovative Asian champions, we can offer differentiated investment opportunities to our clients and create new pathways for ambitious founders to expand internationally… this initiative also catalyses a vibrant funding ecosystem at a time when listings are returning to Asia’s equity markets.”
Granite Asia’s leadership pitched it as a scaling mechanism using DBS to amplify distribution and capital markets connectivity:
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“This partnership unites two premier Asian institutions. Granite Asia brings a unique investment lens focused on technology and transformation, while DBS contributes unrivalled banking strength, capital markets expertise and regional networks. Together, we aim to support founders and companies as they scale across borders and mature into enduring global leaders,” added Jenny Lee, Senior Managing Partner, Granite Asia.
The bottom line
This isn’t a philanthropic push to “support innovation”. It’s a structured attempt to connect three forces:
- A large bank’s wealth distribution power
- An asset manager’s private-market sourcing and IPO pipeline
- A corporate and investment bank’s financing and capital markets toolkit
AI is the spearhead, but the real ambition is broader: build repeatable products that pull private wealth into growth financing — and in the process, give selected Asian companies more ways to raise money without waiting for the venture market to feel generous again.
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