DBS, Southeast Asia’s largest bank, partners with VC gian...

What’s Happening

Real talk: The partnership launches with a new $110 million fund, exclusively for DBS’s wealth clients, that targets IPO-stage AI and tech startups in the region.

DBS, Southeast Asia’s largest bank, and Granite Asia, an Asia-focused investment fund, are launching a new “first-of-its-kind” partnership to support new startups, underpinned by a new $110 million AI-focused IPO fund offered exclusively to DBS’s high-wealth clients. Recommended Video The partnership, which will continue for three years, is part of a push to provide more capital for Asia’s startups, which have fewer funding options available to them compared to those based in more mature Western economies. (wild, right?)

Is amply funded, if not overfunded,” Jenny Lee, senior managing partner at Granite Asia , tells Fortune.

The Details

Accounted for 10 of the 11 largest deals of the last quarter of 2025, according to KPMG ). “The rest of Asia is under invested […] and Asia is not small,” Lee adds.

Southeast Asia’s funding scene has struggled in recent years as investors hold back amid a challenging macroeconomic environment and a mixed record of returns. Traditional banks are hesitant to extend loans to startups, which often burn through cash in their early stages of growth, DBS CEO Tan Su Shan noted.

Why This Matters

Through its collaboration with Granite Asia, DBS hopes to invest early in promising companies and develop long-term relationships with them. Lee and Tan, both of whom spent decades in Asia’s finance sector, have long been friends. “Jenny and I meet in all the strangest places—corridors, conferences, toilets,” Tan quips.

Market watchers are paying close attention to developments like this.

Key Takeaways

• This current partnership grew from a meeting in a conference in Qatar in 2025, where they discussed the growth of Asia’s tech and AI sector.
• “We were bemoaning the fact that there was so much talent, but not enough capital to fund these guys,” the DBS CEO recalls.
• Even the most successful of Asia’s rising AI startups raise majorly less money than their U.
• Chinese startup Moonshot, developer of the open-source Kimi model, raised $500 million earlier this year, according to local media .

The Bottom Line

Even the most successful of Asia’s rising AI startups raise majorly less money than their U. Chinese startup Moonshot, developer of the open-source Kimi model, raised $500 million earlier this year, according to local media .

How do you feel about this development?