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.
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.
“The U.S. is amply funded, if not overfunded,” Jenny Lee, senior managing partner at Granite Asia, tells Fortune. (The U.S. 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. Through its collaboration with Granite Asia, DBS hopes to invest early in promising companies and develop long-term relationships with them.
