Venture Capital

The Cognitive Marketplace

‍

The landscape of information discovery is undergoing a fundamental transformation. AI-powered search engines like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity are now processing an estimated 200-300 million daily queries, marking a paradigm shift in how people access and consume information. This shift represents more than just a technological user interface evolution – it's reshaping the entire digital commerce ecosystem and how consumers may interact with brands moving forward. Think of a world where longer, more complex, intent driven queries replace keyword based search, putting pressure on the traditional advertising model. Given these catalysts, coupled with Asia being one of the leading commerce growth markets globally, we are optimistic in emerging opportunities across:

‍

1. Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) and how brands monitor and improve their brand image in this new  world.

‍

2. Advanced targeting capabilities coupled with improved embedded commerce functionality in a world of long form, higher intent, conversational context.

‍

3. If consumer traffic is distributed across a breadth of fragmented applications, is there opportunity for a new cross platform advertising system/s?

Content is King, but Curation is Queen

‍

We are believers that the barrier to entry for content creation will continue to be significantly reduced over time. Video Generation Models (”VGM”) continue to improve on a weekly basis - combining this with the continued growth and fragmentation of content platforms in Asia, and their march forward into commerce (think TikTok Shop, YouTube Affiliate and an ever impending Meta foray into this world), we believe there will be a material financial incentive for creators to delve into this space. It is obvious that there are multiple tailwinds at play, but it still remains that the efforts of actual content curation remain inherently difficult. Our thesis is that whilst the 2010s were anchored around commerce enablement, the back half of the 2020s is the time for content enablement. We are interested in tooling that can optimise the efforts of agencies, brands and even creators themselves in a world where content creation becomes a commodity, but content curation remains a complexity.

‍

We live in a simulation

‍

Want to know how a new pricing strategy might impact customer retention? Or how a targeted ad campaign might resonate with specific demographics? By creating digital replicas of consumer ecosystems, companies could test these scenarios in a risk-free environment before implementing them in the real world. This approach would allow brands to fine-tune their strategies, optimize ROI on their spend, and adapt dynamically to market shifts—all powered by AI. Whilst the recent proliferation in AI caters itself to utilising an abundance of data to allow enterprise to make better decisions, we are watching on how “digital twin” applications to adtech and commerce technologies come to fruition this year.

‍

Fashion Your Seatbelts (2024 thesis, but still looking!)

‍

At the start of 2024, we had a thesis that the continued rise of platforms like Shein & Temu were going to cause a catalyst for other ecosystem participants, most notably those who had to compete on speed and price to have to adapt significantly to keep up. Our intention was to ideate on how international retailers, wholesalers & brands were to keep up. We believed three key investment areas were being unearthed in retaliation:

‍

1. The democratization of manufacturing – how software could empower users to directly influence design and interact with a highly vetted manufacturing base, therefore reducing the layers of effort between demand and supply. In November 2024 we made our first investment in this space, which is currently building out of stealth.

‍

2. The evolution of global procurement – for international retailers and wholesalers the variables of product discovery, pricing negotiation and adequate MOQs remain complex and daunting on platforms like Alibaba.com and Aliexpress. With evolutions in AI, the ability to qualify suppliers and match this with a feed of relevant and consistent, cross-platform, demand side data potentially starts to level the playing field. In July 2024, we made our first investment in this space, which is currently building out of stealth.

‍

3. Speed of global direct to consumer – To compete with Shein and Temu, western brands are hard pressed to embrace innovative fulfillment models that give them a competitive advantage. We have been exploring AI and software applications which leverage demand data of retailers & wholesalers, connect into direct factory relationships, that enable on-time streamlined logistics, tracking and visibility to the end customer. There is a lot to unpack there and that is maybe why we have yet to make an investment there, but are still on the look out!
‍

Build, Pay and Really Forget

‍

Global interoperability will shape the future of payments. The proliferation of payment methods has transformed how we pay – making a transaction simpler, faster and cheaper. Although payments on the frontend have become seamless and invisible for the consumer (expected to work mindlessly), integrating these systems together under the hood is a labyrinth of challenges. While the 2010s has been about ushering in digital payments, which has brought a swathe of people financially online, the system of the future must transcend geographic limits while simultaneously offering deep integrations across existing business software. Companies building in Asia have a unique advantage to be categorical leaders by building to address complexities arising from a region pioneering the increasing connectivity of domestic real-time payment systems, while bearing in mind the heterogenous nature of its regulatory landscape.

‍

We think that the next wave of fintech infrastructure will untangle the web of spaghetti payment rails, while still ensuring efficacies with lesser operational burdens. Will value accrue for monolithic systems that can bridge fragmented rails and business critical systems like ERPs; crucially across geographies and capture end-to-end from payment acceptance down to supply chains? Perhaps, differentiation by user payment experience (or indeed its elimination) may become more prevalent. We continue to be excited by founders who can make payments – invisible.

‍

AI Fraud Watch

‍

Pun? You tell us. With faster payments come faster fraud. AI, in the wrong hands, can become weaponry for nefarious deeds. More common fraud types have already cost significant losses to consumers and businesses who fell victim to a variety of scams. Yet in an AI-infused era, cybercriminals now gain access to even more tools that allow them to execute large scale schemes cheaply. Social engineering may become an archaic method when AI-bots can effectively crawl data to piece together information to manufacture synthetic identities – unbeknownst to impersonatee and would be victims altogether. Or perhaps with simply creating deepfakes for forgery. Existing systems that are built to detect transaction anomalies alone may no longer be sufficient to identify fraudulent activities.

‍

Regulators will be hard-pressed to protect consumers, which will ultimately increase pressure on financial institutions to procure better solutions or be punished. In the preceding years, the systemic failure of some Fintech companies have already caused regulators to enforce more robust reporting. The combination of rising scrutiny for regulatory adherence and the need to protect consumers’ interest will likely balloon compliance costs across the Fintech industry. We believe that significant opportunities lie in helping financial institutions alleviate the toil of staying compliant and in the innovative use of new-age technologies to fight AI financial crimes.

‍

From β to α

‍

The provision of digital financial services in Southeast-Asia over the past decade has predominantly centered on unlocking access to financial products and improving its distribution efficiently and equitably. Huge innovations across digital banking, credit lending, wealth management, insurance and others, have done a remarkable job at bringing countless segments of the underbanked and unbanked financially online. These platforms have helped consumers gain access to products that aided long-term wealth preservation; or businesses with immediate treasury requirements. But we think now can be about “more”.

‍

Money-saving deal discovery or optimizing of spend can be fully automated to allow users to mindlessly get more value. As financial data gets more interoperable and accessible, AI models can potentially help scale the provision of and achieve hyper-personalization of money matters. Social trading was briefly a fad as people (obviously) want to mimic winning portfolios, but can algorithmic trading or automated portfolio construct now be democratized for wider access? We think that solving for a world where the cognitive burden and constraints of earning more bang for your buck gets increasingly alleviated – is a thoroughly exciting endeavor.

SEA the care

‍

Southeast Asia's healthcare systems are under pressure from aging populations, increasing chronic diseases, and unequal access to medical services between urban and rural areas. A projected shortage of 4.7 million healthcare workers by 2030 risks exacerbating disparities and further straining already under-resourced systems. New technologies are reshaping healthcare delivery and operations in unprecedented ways. We are excited about AI-powered diagnostic tools that are enabling faster, more accurate disease detection, which reduces dependency on scarce specialist resources. Additionally, predictive analytics platforms are helping healthcare providers anticipate patient needs, optimize resource allocation, and improve outcomes. AI will further streamline medical workflows, automate tasks, and deliver predictive insights that enhance patient care and outcomes. We envision a future where technology not only improves healthcare outcomes but also democratizes access for millions across Southeast Asia.

‍

Powering South East Asia’s Data Cities of Tomorrow

‍

Southeast Asia is at the heart of a digital boom, with the proliferation of AI, increasing mobile penetration and skyrocketing demand for cloud services. With data center capacity set to triple by 2030, supportive government policies and data sovereignty laws are fueling localized setups of infrastructure and data centers in key markets like Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia. However, rising energy consumption and sustainability challenges demand urgent innovation. We’re anticipating startups developing AI-powered energy optimization platforms to reduce carbon footprints by dynamically managing cooling systems, server loads, and renewable energy integration. We’re also excited about solutions enabling renewable energy integration, like solar or hydrogen fuel cells, to power data centers sustainably. These technologies will help operators meet growing computational demands while aligning with governments’ environmental goals.

The AI Atelier

‍

The rapid pace of AI innovation has sparked unprecedented excitement among enterprises globally, yet many remain uncertain about how to deploy and integrate AI solutions effectively to unlock maximum value. Developing bespoke, impactful solutions for enterprises requires significant human-in-the-loop involvement, underscoring the strategic advantage of Asia's vast human capital, which comprises 40-50% of the global developer population. We believe that this creates a compelling opportunity for an innovative AI-age business model in Asia that combines AI implementation with product development (the “AI Atelier”). By harnessing the region's highly skilled yet cost-efficient technical workforce, such a venture can help enterprises develop, and implement tailored AI-driven solutions, while identifying high-demand use cases for productization. This dual strategy ensures the development of customer-centric, market-relevant AI products shaped by real-world feedback and iterative deployment, delivering a competitive portfolio of solutions that simultaneously powers consultancy growth and scalable innovation.

‍

Design Smarter, Build Faster

‍

Legacy computer-aided design and engineering solutions and workflows rely heavily on human expertise and iterative processes, which are time-consuming and computationally intensive. As global technology and semiconductor leaders continue to invest in infrastructure and engineering resources in Asia ($35B+ committed by hyperscalers to Southeast Asia in 2024 alone!), the region has the opportunity to spearhead the revolution in AI-enabled hardware design and engineering. We are looking for founders who are keenly aware of the pain points within existing hardware engineering processes and can utilize predictive machine learning models to reshape the way engineers approach design, cost optimization, analytics and production.

‍

Finding Order in Chaos

‍

Traditional software solutions have struggled to realize their full potential across much of Asia, especially among SMEs that have long relied on low-cost human capital and offline methods like forms, spreadsheets, and social messaging platforms. This has created a trove of unstructured customer data and business insights that often remain scattered, siloed, and ultimately lost across various platforms. We believe that solutions which enable businesses to unify, query and act on these disparate repositories of multi-modal data will need to be built in Asia for Asia. The addressable market opportunity, however, is global; the plethora of actionable insights generated will be valuable to any enterprise looking to sell into emerging markets.

‍

Reimagining Work

‍

The rapid evolution of artificial intelligence and AI agents is democratizing access to specialized capabilities within organizations. These advancements empower individual users to create and deploy tools that replicate skills and processes once limited to specialized teams. This transformative shift is set to redefine team structures and workflows, replacing rigid hierarchies and siloed functions with agile, adaptive workforces supported by AI. To thrive in this new paradigm, the next generation of software must prioritize collaboration, flexibility, and productivity in AI-augmented workplaces. We believe Asian founders and teams are uniquely positioned to lead this innovation, unencumbered by the constraints of legacy organizational structures. How can we reimagine the workplace to be flatter, more efficient, and more transparent?