DBS is moving decisively deeper into private markets — and this time, it’s not going alone. It’s bringing its wealth clients with it.
The bank’s three-year partnership with Granite Asia, launched with a US$110 million AI-focused IPO fund, is more than a product rollout. It’s a structural play. DBS is using its private banking distribution to channel capital into a curated slice of Asia’s AI pipeline — companies mature enough to contemplate public listings, yet still navigating the final stretch of growth.
AI is the hook. The ambition is larger.
With over 13,000 AI startups founded in Asia since 2015, the funnel is crowded. Few will reach IPO stage. Fewer still will do so smoothly. That’s where this partnership positions itself: combining Granite Asia’s sourcing and IPO track record with DBS’s financing, advisory, and capital markets muscle.
For founders, this could mean alternatives to dilutive equity rounds, access to structured financing, and IPO preparation support. For wealth clients, it’s institutional-style access packaged within a private banking channel.
The signal is clear. As venture funding tightens and listings cautiously reopen, DBS isn’t waiting for the cycle to turn generous again. It’s building a repeatable bridge between private wealth, growth capital, and Asia’s next wave of tech companies — starting with AI.
REGIONAL
DBS doubles down on private markets with US$110M AI IPO fund: DBS has partnered Granite Asia to channel wealth capital into AI-focused IPO funds and private financing, linking private banking clients with high-growth Asian companies seeking scale, liquidity, and market access.
US$11.5M at stake: Society Pass and ex-CMO clash ends in mixed court ruling: Nasdaq-listed Society Pass and former CMO Thomas O’Connor received a split New York verdict preserving pre-2019 warrant equity, voiding CVO contracts, forfeiting later pay, and leaving SPI facing multimillion-dollar liabilities.
SG procurement firm Eezee raises US$5M pre-Series B: Investors include Korea Investment Partners, Kickstart Ventures, and Wavemaker Ventures. The funding will support Eezee’s expansion across Southeast Asia and further development of its AI-powered procurement tools, RFQBot and ProcureFlow.
Singapore’s Diaflow raises seed funding to challenge legacy workflow tools: Insignia Ventures is the lead investor. Since launching in February 2025, Diaflow says it has grown to more than 10,000 users and organisations globally, with over 60% of adoption coming from the US.
TikTok Shop beats Shopee in Vietnam’s Lunar New Year: A report says TikTok Shop captured 52% market share as holiday spending hit US$2.6B and overall e-commerce revenue rose 9%. On the other hand, Shopee’s share declined to 48%. TikTok Shop’s growth rate was nearly twice that of Shopee during the peak period.
FEATURES & INTERVIEWS
Tech leaders applaud Singapore Budget 2026’s AI-first strategy but urge focus on context, capability: The budget places AI at the core of economic strategy, launching a National AI Council, sector missions, enterprise incentives, infrastructure, and workforce programmes to move decisively from experimentation to execution.
Jayce Tham: Rethinking creativity for Southeast Asia’s new AI economy: A seasoned creative industry leader, Tham bridges artistic talent, freelance ecosystems, and next-generation AI. Since launching CreativesAtWork in 2012, she has built a cross-border, on-demand talent network spanning branding, design, video, and production.
INTERNATIONAL
Hong Kong stablecoin unicorn RedotPay eyes US$1B US IPO: The listing could occur in New York as early as this year. The valuation may exceed US$4B, but details are still being finalised. RedotPay raised US$194M in 2025, including a Series B in December, reaching unicorn status.
Meta docs warn encryption could cut child abuse reports: The firm’s internal documents reveal that in 2019, company executives discussed potential risks associated with implementing end-to-end encryption on Facebook and Instagram messaging services, despite public claims of safety improvements.
India plans to raise US$19.7B from state IPOs by 2030: The government aims to monetise assets across sectors including railways, power, oil and gas, aviation, and coal. The IPOs include stakes in seven railway companies, which could potentially raise US$9.2B by 2030, with US$1.8B targeted in the upcoming fiscal year starting April 2026.
SK Telecom to back 15 AI, ESG startups to court Europe VCs: The Korean telco said the 15 participating startups come from diverse backgrounds, ranging from AI consulting and optimisation, cybersecurity and data security, data infrastructure, to renewable energy, and ecosystem restoration.
Coupang faces US hearing on regulations: The S Korean e-commerce firm’ interim CEO Harold Rogers testified before the US House Judiciary Committee on February 23 amid concerns over data leaks and regulatory issues. The hearing focused on allegations of discriminatory treatment by Korean authorities against US companies.
CYBERSECURITY
Underfunded and under fire: Indonesia’s cyber startups face 2025 reality: Indonesia’s cybersecurity sector faces rising AI-driven threats and regulatory pressure, but funding remains muted, creating opportunities in anti-fraud, identity, MDR, and locally hosted, outcome-driven security solutions.
Singapore’s cybersecurity paradox: Why we must act now: After UNC3886 exposed Singapore’s cyber vulnerabilities, regional cybersecurity funding collapsed 96%, threatening digital sovereignty and underscoring urgent need for stronger investment, talent pipelines, and public-private collaboration.
Cybersecurity stocks fall as new Anthropic tool sparks AI fears: The AI lab debuted a limited research preview of a service that scans software code for vulnerabilities and offers solutions on February 20. Shares of companies such as CrowdStrike and Zscaler fell about 10%, while Netskope and Tenable dropped around 12%.
SEMICONDUCTOR
Singtel’s InfraCo, Nvidia launch AI centre of excellence: The CoE will focus on developing data centre designs for next-generation Nvidia GPUs, building an AI ecosystem, enhancing edge AI capabilities, and cultivating AI talent. The initiative aligns with Singapore’s Budget 2026, which emphasises AI as a strategic national asset.
Indonesia’s Danantara, UK-based Arm sign semiconductor deal: The collaboration involves Indonesia sending 15,000 engineers to develop expertise in semiconductor design. It aims to advance Indonesia’s control over semiconductor tech, with Arm holding significant shares in global chip design for automotive, data centres, and AI sectors.
Chip demand lifts S Korea consumer confidence to 3-month high: The consumer confidence reached 112.1 in Feb, according to the Bank of Korea. The increase was driven by improved assessments of current economic conditions and optimistic expectations, supported by strong semiconductor shipments and a rising stock market.
AI
Big Tech said to invest US$650B on AI in 2026: The figure rose from US$410B invested in 2025, according to Bridgewater Associates. Bridgewater’s co-CIO Greg Jensen noted that the AI sector is entering a “more dangerous phase,” with increased spending on physical infrastructure and reliance on outside capital.
The real risk in ASEAN’s AI race is not falling behind. It is falling apart: ASEAN’s AI ambitions face a critical test in cybersecurity, as uneven governance, digital literacy gaps, and rising AI-enabled threats risk undermining trust, cross-border resilience, and long-term regional innovation.
Southeast Asia’s AI boom is built on steel, not startups: The AI boom is driven by hyperscaler data centres, undersea cables, and power infrastructure, but local startups lag as compute investment outpaces venture funding and policy coordination.
Momentum without maturity: Southeast Asia’s AI reality: If AI tools remain priced and packaged for enterprise procurement teams, the region gets an ugly outcome: big firms compound their productivity advantages while small firms fall further behind, even if the technology itself is “available”.
How AI is enhancing personalisation in open banking through data-driven insights: AI is reshaping fintech through hyper-personalisation, enabling tailored recommendations, real-time financial advice, dynamic credit scoring, intelligent chatbots, and fraud detection to deliver frictionless open banking experiences.
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Why venture capital must become venture architecture: When money is no longer the hard part: As AI lowers building barriers and exits slow, Southeast Asian venture capital must evolve from picking winners to designing pathways that enable adoption, cross-border scale, and durable growth.
The agentic era of marketing: Why real-time reasoning is replacing traditional automation: Marketing is entering the agentic AI era, where systems reason, adapt, and optimise in real time, shifting focus from automation to unified intelligence, dynamic context, and scalable, autonomous operations.
How policy shocks are rewriting cloud strategy in Southeast Asia: The region’s founders are rethinking hyperscaler dependence as pricing shifts, service retirements, and regulatory fragmentation expose cloud infrastructure as strategic risk rather than neutral utility.
Beyond the spreadsheet: Why your data is dead without a storyteller: Businesses collect vast data yet struggle to drive decisions because numbers lack narrative. Turning analytics into compelling visual stories transforms information into action, creating competitive advantage for startups and enterprises alike.
5 crypto events that will make or break 2026: What investors must know before April: Q2 2026 could redefine crypto as US legislation, ETF approvals, UK tax access, Fed leadership shifts, and EU MiCA rules converge to unlock capital, clarify regulation, and reshape global liquidity conditions.
The fragmentation trap: How too many platforms are killing startups: Today’s startup ecosystem is fragmented across platforms, wasting founders’ time and rewarding vanity metrics. What it needs isn’t more tools, but consolidated infrastructure built on verified performance and open access.
From cold code to warm smiles: How Singapore automates human connection: As global tourism automates, Singapore uses AI and immersive tech to free staff, preserve empathy, and scale personalised experiences without sacrificing human warmth.
The architecture of rejection: Why ventures fail funding audits across both investors and institutional allocators: In SEA’s funding landscape, investors forgive mess but not structural risk, demanding operational discipline, clean governance, and verifiable controls before deploying institutional capital into growing ventures.
Islamic fintech in Southeast Asia: Decline or revival?: The latest Global Islamic Fintech Report shows OIC dominance, but Southeast Asia remains resilient, driven by digital assets, AI innovation, and growing regulatory cooperation to sustain regional leadership.
The post Ecosystem Roundup: DBS launches US$110M AI IPO fund; SEA’s AI boom runs on steel; Indonesia’s cyber startups face 2025 crunch appeared first on e27.